By Rebekah Morris for AZBEX
The Yuma Regional Medical Center plans to develop a new Surgical Center Medical Office, East Campus Parking Structure and Imaging Center on the SEC of S. Avenue A and W. 24th St., if a Minor General Plan amendment and rezoning are approved.
On the site currently are single-story buildings that would be razed to make way for the new project. The National Bank of Arizona on the hard corner of S. Avenue A and W. 24th St. would remain, as well as a single-tenant medical office building south of W. 24th St. The site is comprised of 9.40 acres in a sort of upside down, reversed F shape.
Phasing: Parking First, then Surgical Center
According to the predevelopment meeting notes, the parking garage will span 900 – 1,000 spaces and will be the first phase to be constructed. Next would be the 3-story Surgical Center, estimated at 113KSF, followed by the New Imaging Center, a 4-story, 112KSF building. There may be a future Cath Lab as well.
The YRMC main campus sits directly to the west of this property, on the SWC of S. Avenue A and W. 24th St.
A public meeting was held on August 2 for nearby property owners. According to City Planner Erika Peterson, about 20 nearby residents attended and brought up concerns with the proposed building height and access to their neighborhoods. The City will require a traffic study as a condition of approval of the GPA. The project is scheduled for a Planning & Zoning Commission hearing on October 9, 2023 and a City Council hearing on November 1, 2023.
If all goes according to plan, the GPA would be approved by City Council at that meeting. Once the GPA is approved, the property still has to be rezoned, which would take another 5-6 months. Once rezoning is in place, the project still has to go through Plan Review with the City of Yuma. Depending on whether the project pursues design concurrent with the city planning approvals or not, the earliest the project could break ground is late 2024.
YRMC Expands in Multiple Directions
This project timeline mirrors the nearby Healthcare Workforce Education Center, located on the north side of W. 24th St, across the street from the main YRMC campus. The same team is representing YRMC on that submittal.
The Engineer/Applicant is Dahl, Robins & Associates. The Architect is ArchSOL. Requests for information about a General Contractor were not returned by press time.
