Plans for medical office addition receive conditional approval

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The plans for a two-story, 41,000-square-foot addition to Hudson Hospital and Clinic were given conditional approval by the City Council Monday night, July 9.

The approval was conditional because the city hasn’t yet annexed the 20-acre site on which the medical office addition will be partially located.

The council approved the first reading of an ordinance to annex the former George and Mary Hoel and Einar and Rita Horne properties Monday night.

Community Development Director Dennis Darnold reported that the hospital and its owner, HealthPartners, haven’t yet approved the terms of the annexation agreement. The agreement includes payments to the city for the utility and street improvements needed for the new facility.

Darnold recommended annexing the property once the health care organizations agree to the terms. That approval could come as soon as the City Council’s next meeting on July 23.

The hospital is proposing to move the entrance to the campus 450 feet to the east on Stageline Road. Darnold said that would necessitate widening the road to four lanes to at least that point, and the addition of a turn lane for eastbound traffic.

The city and the hospital also need to come to terms on storm water utility and sanitary sewer service improvements needed for the medical office addition, he said.

Also, the council will need to act on rezoning the 20-acre site from one-family residential district (R-1) to general business district (B-2) once the annexation is finalized.

The council set a public hearing on the proposed rezoning for 6:55 p.m. Monday, Aug. 6.

Paul Neuhaus, an architect with the Minneapolis firm Perkins & Will, presented the plan for the new medical office.

It will be located on the east side of the present complex, covering part of the existing parking lot.

The project will include expanding the remaining existing parking area, and constructing a new lot east of the addition.

Neuhaus showed an architectural drawing of the new medical offices, which he said will be built of materials matching those used for the existing hospital and clinic complex.

The design will incorporate metal panels, split-faced block and similar colors to those in the existing hospital and clinic, Neuhaus said.

“It looks like a great project for us,” commented Mayor Alan Burchill.

Tags: communities, hudson, government, health