New hospital on course. Literally.Byline: Joe Harwood The Register-Guard Two years after launching its search for a new hospital location, McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center said it will land on the back nine of RiverRidge Golf Course in north Eugene. RiverRidge owners Debbie and Ric Jeffries have signed an agreement with McKenzie-Willamette to sell just under 42 acres of their signature course on the west side of North Delta Highway The Delta Highway is a short limited-access freeway in Eugene, Oregon, United States, linking downtown Eugene with the Beltline Highway, northern Eugene and the Riverridge golf course to the north. for the proposed $225 million medical center, hospital officials said Tuesday in an interview with The Register-Guard. Roy Orr, McKenzie-Willamette's chief executive, said the property meets all of the criteria set out by the hospital: a single owner; a parcel large enough to accommodate the hospital and medical office buildings; road access; and reasonable land costs. "It's one owner and it's shovel-ready, so we can move on with the process assuming we get the support we need from the city of Eugene," said Chris Holden Holden, town (1990 pop. 14,628), Worcester co., central Mass., a residential suburb of Worcester; settled 1723, set off and inc. 1741. Manufactures include electrical and metal products, plastics, and machinery. , Northwest Division Two of North America's major professional sports leagues contain a Northwest Division.
Hospital officials planned to announce their decision at a news conference today at 10 a.m. The move puts to rest two years of increasingly intense speculation - most recently centering on the Glenwood area of Springfield - about where the new McKenzie-Willamette might be built. Now, Triad officials will begin wading through the zone change they need, street and highway upgrades to support the hospital, and any arguments made by opponents of the proposal. It was not clear Tuesday whether substantial opposition would emerge to the site. Many Eugene elected officials and land use advocates had hoped Triad would pick a site much closer to the city center. But Triad was never able to secure a downtown parcel that met its needs. The Jeffries' property includes the southern two-thirds of the 67-acre golf course, which is now zoned for agricultural uses and is designated in the metro area's official land use planning
Land use planning is the term used for a branch of public policy which encompasses various disciplines which seek to order and regulate the use of land in an efficient and ethical way. documents for single-family homes. The land is inside the city's urban growth boundary "UGB" redirects here. UGB may also refer to Unión de Guerreros Blancos (White Warriors' Union), a death squad founded to repress leftist elements in El Salvador. An urban growth boundary, or UGB but outside city limits. It's unclear what type of land use changes Triad would need to be able to put a hospital there. "We recognize there are still steps to go through," Triad's Holden said. "And the city of Eugene still has to provide leadership to make this go the rest of the way." Triad and the Jeffries declined to disclose the selling price. Orr said that with the sales agreement in hand, hospital officials can now "convey to the city what our requirements are to make this an extraordinary site for a medical center." Triad's needs include upgrades to North Delta Highway, full utilities, fiber-optics and other infrastructure. McKenzie-Willamette also intends to amend its application to state regulators for a new hospital, to include the north Delta location. Officials with the state Department of Human Services, which issues hospital operating permits, more than two months ago refused to process Triad's application because it was based on building the facility on the Eugene Water & Electric Board campus in downtown Eugene. Regulators said Triad's nonbinding agreement to buy the EWEB EWEB Eugene Water and Electric Board (Oregon) property failed to meet state rules that a site be secured. Orr said the amended a·mend v. a·mend·ed, a·mend·ing, a·mends v.tr. 1. To change for the better; improve: amended the earlier proposal so as to make it more comprehensive. 2. application should be completed before the end of the year. Construction of the hospital and associated medical office buildings could begin in 2006, depending on the time its takes for land use approval, he said. In addition to the hospital, the 42 acres Triad would buy could accommodate as much as 200,000 square feet of medical office buildings, Orr said. Triad will accept bids from medical office developers for that part of the facility, he said. When developing a new hospital, Triad commonly gives doctors the choice to invest and own the surrounding sur·round tr.v. sur·round·ed, sur·round·ing, sur·rounds 1. To extend on all sides of simultaneously; encircle. 2. To enclose or confine on all sides so as to bar escape or outside communication. n. medical office buildings. Holden said he's aware that the north Delta site may spark controversy. The Coalition for Health Options in Central Eugene-Springfield, for example, warned hospital officials earlier this year that the group would fight a hospital at the Crescent crescent, emblematic representation of the quarter moon. The crescent and star, ancient Byzantine symbols that became the emblems of Constantinople, were also assumed as the standard of the Ottoman Turks. Village area in north Eugene owned by Arlie & Co. That site is about two miles east of the golf course. CHOICES, which wants a hospital close to downtown Eugene, held up PeaceHealth's proposal for the RiverBend medical facility in Gateway for almost three years before extracting concessions and dropping its litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. . The Eugene City Council last year set as its highest priority attracting McKenzie-Willamette to a location south of the Willamette River Willamette River River, northwestern Oregon, U.S. It flows north for 300 mi (485 km) into the Columbia River near Portland. Oregon's most populous cities are in its valley. The Fremont Bridge, a steel arch with a main span of 1,225 ft (373 m), crosses the river at Portland. and close to downtown. "There's obviously going to be a lot of discussion about (the golf course) site because of that whole north-south of the river issue," Holden said. "I think people just need to work through that and recognize we spent more than two years trying to satisfy that request, and it just hasn't proven to be a viable possibility." Triad looked at dozens of locations throughout Eugene, including the EWEB site, the Lane County fairgrounds n. pl. 1. same as fairground. , an industrial site at West Second Avenue and Chambers Street Chambers Street is a street in Edinburgh, Scotland, at south of the Old Town. The street is named after William Chambers of Glenormiston, the Lord Provost of Edinburgh who was the main proponent of the 1867 Edinburgh Improvement Act, which gave permission for the street's , property near Valley River Center Valley River Center is a shopping mall located in Eugene, Oregon. As the largest shopping center south of Portland and north of San Francisco, this mall comprises over 130 local and national stores and restaurants. and the PeaceHealth Medical Group Clinic on Willamette Street near the downtown. Those sites were variously too small, too expensive, had multiple ownerships, weren't for sale, or didn't have the support of area physicians. Tuesday's announcement was a blow to Springfield officials, who were racing to make Glenwood an appealing option. Springfield officials over the past 30 days assembled as·sem·ble v. as·sem·bled, as·sem·bling, as·sem·bles v.tr. 1. To bring or call together into a group or whole: assembled the jury. 2. purchase options on about 40 acres in Glenwood, north of Franklin Boulevard, for a hospital or other development, said John Tamulonis, the city's economic development manager. He said Tuesday night that Glenwood still could serve as a "backstop" for Triad in case things don't work out in Eugene. Holden said the diligent dil·i·gent adj. Marked by persevering, painstaking effort. See Synonyms at busy. [Middle English, from Old French, from Latin d work and welcoming attitude of Springfield officials was wonderful, but Triad believes that a Eugene site is best for the community given PeaceHealth's planned move from Eugene to Springfield in 2008. Triad officials have said they anticipate that with a Eugene hospital, they can take as much as 40 percent of PeaceHealth's market share once RiverBend opens and the majority of PeaceHealth's operations transfer from Eugene to Springfield. PeaceHealth has long dominated the local health care market. Orr said the Jeffries will continue to operate the front nine holes of RiverRidge, the driving range and pro shop adjacent to the hospital. The Nines at RiverRidge, two nine-hole courses on the east side of Delta Highway, will remain unchanged. Construction Hope to begin building medical offices and the hospital in 2006 Office construction to take 12 months Hospital construction to take 18 months To-do list Property is designated for single-family homes and must be rezoned Transportation upgrades needed along North Delta Highway and at the Delta Highway/Belt Line interchange An interchange is a location where two things meet, usually perform some kind of exchange, and possibly go on their ways again. It is most commonly used in four contexts:
With site certainty, Triad can move forward with its application for state certificate of need CAPTION(S): Triad Hospitals Inc., McKenzie-Willamette's majority owner, has chosen the back nine holes at RiverRidge Golf Course in north Eugene for a new hospital location. |
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