CEO donates $40 million to Indy hospital

David Simon, the chairman and chief executive officer of Simon Property Group, and his family have donated $40 million to Riley Children’s Foundation to create a 10-story inpatient tower at Riley Hospital for Children. The business owns 109 malls across the U.S., including Bloomington’s College Mall and the Mall of America in Minnesota, according to the company Web site. \nThe new building, the Simon Family Tower, will house medical and surgery units, operating rooms, intensive care and emergency care facilities, obstetrics units for high risk deliveries, a new heart center and imaging and radiology units.\n“Space is at a premium,” said Jason Mueller, Riley Children’s Foundation assistant communications manager. “We drastically need more space to remain a premiere children’s hospital in the country.”\nThe building project will cost about $475 million, so hospital administrators are making this tower its first public fundraising cause since the hospital opened in 1924. Mueller said they hope to raise $175 million more to help fund the project.\n“We need the help of every family in Indiana that has a heart for Riley to think about how they can assist and make this dream for Riley come true,” Mueller said.