By Roland Murphy for AZBEX
As attendees to last week’s BEX Leading Market Series event and readers of AZBEX’s front-page coverage saw, major Arizona healthcare companies are facing challenges when it comes to balancing new facilities development with current market conditions. (AZBEX, March 10)
Despite the difficulties of a problematic capital market, timing current demand with future needs and predicting the best location to most efficiently serve the maximum number of patients, those providers are still moving ahead with near-, medium- and long-term plans to ensure both service and revenue levels on an ongoing basis.
To that end, this week the Surprise Planning and Zoning Commission will hear a Major Planned Area Development Amendment from Dignity Health to change the designation of a 22-acre parcel from Prasada Gateway Village 1 to Prasada Gateway Village Employment. If approved, the change will create an overall 40-acre parcel at the SWC of Greenway Road and Loop 303 that will be the future Dignity Health West Valley Campus.
Under the current PAD, the PGV-1 designation allows for neighborhood-level retail with “a variety of commercial land uses as well as employment and a limited amount of residential development,” according to the Surprise planning staff report. The amendment to PGV-E “provides primarily employment uses including traditional office development, hospital, medical office buildings and medically related employment uses as well as retail, hospitality and a limited amount of residential development.”
Both designations would allow for healthcare-related development, but under the PGV-E designation, maximum building heights would be raised to 200 feet, rather than the current 60 feet. The amended designation would also allow for helipads.
The staff report notes the northern portion of the site is within the PGV Perimeter Overlay District, which establishes a 300-foot buffer between the development and existing residential developments. “Development within this overlay is more restrictive with respect to heights and setbacks in order to create a sensitive transition into the Prasada Gateway Village Core. The subject application retains the PGV-POD overlay and its associated development standards…”
In addition to the standard local agency reviews, the Arizona Department of Transportation and Luke Air Force Base were invited to comment. Neither had any objection, although Luke reserved the right to review and comment on specific plans later in the process, particularly concerning the potential helipads.
The Dignity Proposal
According to the submitted PAD Amendment request, “The proposed Dignity Health – West Valley Campus Master Plan (“West Valley Campus”) is part of Dignity’s vision to develop a dynamic new medical center providing a broad range of healthcare services to serve the City of Surprise and the broader West Valley. The proposed West Valley Campus will be a destination and regional provider of health care services. This medical center may include primary and specialty care practices along with outpatient imaging, ambulatory surgery center, and other ancillary services.”
While Dignity has not yet finalized its vision for the project, a conceptual site plan imagines a site with four medical office buildings of 60KSF each, along with a 502.7KSF hospital facility that would be built in three phases.
Phase I of the hospital is envisioned as 198.4KSF, with Phases II and III to follow at 149.8KSF and 154.6KSF, respectively. The hospital is currently planned to have an Emergency Department with a Trauma 1 Center, and both the surgery and emergency departments will be served by state-of-the-art imaging services.
A total of 1,610 parking spaces would be provided across the total development. All construction timelines will be set by market demand and need.
The first phase of development will include the infrastructure to make the campus part of the greater Prasada community, according to the submittal. “Conceptually, the first phase of the project will develop the infrastructure necessary to connect the Site to the community. This includes the further development of Prasada Gateway Avenue to extend to the southern point of the campus with a turnaround that can easily be extended as the area continues to be developed. The main entrance to the campus will be located at the intersection of Custer Road and Prasada Gateway Avenue. A separate entrance for the emergency department, ambulances and services vehicles will be located south of the main entrance.”
City staff has recommended the Commission recommend the proposal for approval.
Dignity Health is the developer. The design firm is Devenney Group Ltd. Architects. HILGARTWILSON is the civil engineer, and the project is represented by Gammage & Burnham, PLC. The Surprise Planning and Zoning Commission will hear the request March 16.
