The McLaren Health Village on Sashabaw Road is another step closer to reality.
The Independence Township Planning Commission voted unanimously to grant its final approval to McLaren’s Planned Unit Development. The plan will now go to the Township Board with the commission’s recommendation for approval.
The $600 million health-care campus will include medical office buildings, stores, restaurants, and a hospital. It will be built in three phases, with retail and medical offices in the first and the hospital in the third.
Remaining issues for the commission included traffic, tax revenue, and burden on public services. A letter from Township Supervisor David Wagner specified concerns about increased police and fire services the project would required.
Greg Lane, senior vice president and chief administrative officer for McLaren Health Care Corporation, has met with Wagner and addressed the issues at the Planning Commission meeting.
‘I don’t believe anything raised in the letter will be a problem,? Lane said.
McLaren will employ a 24-hour private security force, officers of which will be deputized with the power to issue tickets, he said.
Also, the state has strict guidelines for fire safety and evacuation planning for hospitals.
‘We are in an incredibly well regulated business,? he said.
Fees and costs for inspections and services has been and will be paid by McLaren at all its facilities, he said.
‘It’s standard practice at all our hospitals,? he said.
The Planning Commission has received the Ernst and Young tax-revenue analysis that was commissioned by McLaren. The commission requested the report this past month to address concerns about the tax-exempt status of the hospital, and its impact on township tax revenues.
The report, which will be evaluated by the township Assessing Department, says that tax revenue from the McLaren’s project, about $38 million a year, would be greater than it would be if the site were developed commercially, about $31 million, said Richard Carlisle, planning consultant.
The tax-exempt status will only apply to the hospital portion of the development, and that won’t be built for several years. Until then, McLaren will pay taxes on the property, as well as on the retail and office facilities as they are constructed, Lane said.
‘We already strengthened the tax base just by buying the property,? he said.
The five-story height of the hospital towers was addressed at the Nov. 9 Planning Commission meeting. It would require a variance from the township’s height ordinance.
According to the commission, benefits in improved efficiency in hospital care outweigh risks. The design of the project also shields the three hospital towers from view with landscaping and distance ? they are more than 750 feet from residential areas.
The variance is specific to this project, and should not serve as a precedent for other proposed developments, planners said.
If approved by the Township Board, Phase one could begin as early as this spring. McLaren estimates phase three to begin in about three years, subject to state approval.