FAYETTEVILLE -- Washington Regional Medical Center will soon have nearly $86 million in construction projects underway after the system's leaders broke ground on a medical plaza Thursday.
A pair of projects will add nearly 200 workers and about 170,000 square feet of medical space. The medical system's campus has nearly doubled since moving to its location along the Fulbright Expressway in 2002.
Medical plaza
Washington Regional Medical Plaza will include:
• Urgent care
• Family practice
• Internal medicine
• Urology
• Endrocrinology
• Gynecologic oncology
• Outpatient imaging center providing X-ray, MRI, CT, ultrasound and fluroscopy
Key Architecture designed the four-story, 66,300-square-foot building. CDI Contractors will build the project.
Source: Washington Regional
"This is more than an investment, it's a commitment to the community," Bill Bradley, Washington Regional president and CEO, said during Thursday's ceremony.
The four-story, 66,300-square-foot medical plaza will sit on 5.22 acres at the corner of Bob Younkin Drive and Appleby Road, across the street from the hospital's emergency room.
The plaza will house services including urgent care and family practice. An outpatient imaging center that will have MRI and CT scanners and radiologists will make it easier for patients to get appointments, Bradley said.
The plaza is scheduled to open early next year.
Washington Regional is midway through an expansion project on a women's and children's center. A five-story building will add about 125 workers and 105,000 square feet to the hospital.
The building will feature the hospital's second helipad. Bradley said the location will provide easy access to the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit, which is expanding from 12 to 34 beds. The hospital plans to deliver up to 3,500 babies annually. Construction is slated to be finished in the fall.
A 350-space parking deck for patients and visitors is also under construction.
Chung Tan, director of economic development at the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce, said the projects align with the chamber's goal of increasing the number of medical jobs across the city.
"This adds to the momentum," she said. "It's not just creating jobs, but usually jobs in the medical field are good paying jobs."
Bradley said a 2013 independent assessment cited a need for improved access for clinic visits. Washington Regional has added 42 physicians since the assessment, he said.
Greg Lee, chairman of the board of directors, said the medical plaza's location across the street from the hospital means it can use the center's backup generator if needed.
Not everyone was pleased with a multistory building at that location. Neighbors expressed concern the building was too tall and too close to their property lines during an Oct. 27, 2015, meeting that prompted planning commissioners to table the request.
The medical center moved the project about 24 feet and the Planning Commission approved the plan Nov. 11.
A handful of neighbors attended Thursday's ceremony, including Bob Hill, president of the North Heights Property Owners Association. Hill said Washington Regional leaders listened to their concerns and made some adjustments.
"You can't make everyone happy, but they did what they could to accommodate our concerns," he said.
NW News on 01/29/2016