SPRINGDALE -- A new oncology clinic will be a step toward the west side of town becoming a health care destination.
Representatives of the Highlands Oncology Group and city officials broke ground Sunday on the medical group's new facility in Springdale, the third in Northwest Arkansas. This comes on the heels of Arkansas Children's Northwest opening a 24-bed hospital in the same area in February.
By the numbers
Highlands Oncology
Springdale
Lot size: 8 acres
Square feet: 125,000
Stories: 5
Cost: $30 million
Completion date: 2020
Employees in Springdale: 100
Total patients served: 10,000-12,000
Source: Staff report
City officials created a master plan years ago that outlined growth across town, paying special attention to land west of Interstate 49 near Don Tyson Parkway. Development started with the construction of Arvest Ballpark, and the Northwest Arkansas Naturals minor-league baseball team just finished the 11th season there.
"There's always been a belief that medical facilities could play a major role in the area around the ballpark," said Springdale Mayor Doug Sprouse. "Our planning is going to be realized."
The $30 million Highlands project is part of the Parkway Plaza commercial development at the southwest side of the intersection of Don Tyson Parkway and I-49. The new location is equidistant between the medical group's facilities in Fayetteville and Rogers.
"It's real convenient to those in the community who need services," said Mike Overton, a member of the Springdale City Council. "And a boon to the economy."
Overton knows about Highlands Oncology firsthand. His wife is a patient.
"Highlands Oncology does more good for more people than you will ever know," he said.
Perry Webb, president of the Springdale Chamber of Commerce, said the market is driving the development.
"There are a lot of conversations going on about other potential medical type projects in the area," he said.
The city also will benefit from potential auxiliary services -- such as other medical clinics, medical suppliers, restaurants and hotels -- likely to develop in the area, Overton said.
Walmart opened a Sam's Club store in the district in May 2017.
Northwest Arkansas Community College broke ground for a Springdale campus in June.
The C.L. George family plans a five-story office building just north of the children's hospital.
The City Council in its last meeting approved rezoning a lot in the district for a unique multi-family residential development.
Construction just began for a Mercy outpatient facility just up the road at the southwest intersection of Elm Springs Road and I-49, and Northwest Medical Center opened a similar facility on the the southeast side of the intersection.
Highland's five-story building will encompass 125,000 square feet on 8 acres, said Kathey Rhodes, chief operating officer for the medical group and director of the building project. Three floors will be dedicated to the medical practice, with the upper two available for lease, she said.
The oncology group plans to consolidate its business offices, corporate headquarters and research department in the new facility as well as provide treatment, Rhodes said. Highlands' Center for Chest Care, a multi-disciplinary lung clinic currently available at both locations, also will find a home in the Springdale facility.
More than 100 employees will move to Springdale, along with some new employees. Rhodes said a new medical oncologist joins the practice in July, and the medical group is considering recruiting another.
The Highlands facility in the North Hills Medical Park in Fayetteville has been overcrowded for years and the Rogers location soon will be, Rhodes said.
"We searched high and low for a location in Fayetteville, but there was nothing available," Rhodes said. "Then this piece of property was presented to us."
Highlands will renovate the Fayetteville space for continued use after the Springdale facility opens in the spring of 2020, she said.
Highlands Oncology Group currently serves 10,000 to 12,000 active patients at its facilities in Fayetteville and Rogers, Rhodes said.
"We are the primary cancer care provider in Northwest Arkansas," Rhodes said. But patients also come from southern Missouri, eastern Oklahoma, Fort Smith and Mountain Home.
NW News on 11/05/2018