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DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke University's Board of Trustees Friday gave preliminary approval to financial and architectural plans for construction of a five-level, $31.2 million children's health center adjoining Duke Hospital.

The board's action clears the way for Duke University Medical Center officials to submit to the state an application for a certificate of need. Duke must receive state approval before proceeding with the 61,500-square-foot facility. The Duke trustees will review the project one more time before construction begins.

The children's health center plans call for four patient care floors and a storage level, with central access for pediatric patients.

The facility, to be located at the northeast corner of Duke Hospital facing Erwin Road, is planned to connect to the main hospital on three floors to give immediate access to pediatric inpatient units and other hospital-based services.

DUMC officials, who have been studying the project and developing plans the past five years, said the children's health center will consolidate pediatric services at Duke for both inpatients and outpatients. It will improve the delivery of care to children and provide a state-of-the-art facility for seriously ill children, officials said.

In addition to approving the children's health center, the board also gave preliminary approval for construction of a $3.2 million brain imaging and analysis center. The project calls for construction of 6,900 square feet of new space and the renovation of 900 square feet of existing space in the hospital's magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) area.