Project representatives presented two zoning change requests to allow for construction of the proposed hospital, dubbed Texas Health McKinney on city planning documents, at a Nov. 11 meeting of the McKinney Planning and Zoning Commission.
Commissioners unanimously recommended approval of the rezoning requests, but final action is expected to come from a future McKinney City Council meeting.
The current situation
The site being considered for the hospital development is located at the northwest corner of Central Expressway and Laud Howell Parkway. The two sites being recommended for rezoning span a combined total of about 68 acres, city documents show.
The zoning change request would change the existing Planned Development zoning type for both tracts, and establish a mix of Planned Development and C-3 Regional Commercial zoning types. The requested zoning would allow for the development of the hospital facility, and also establish a maximum building height of 210 feet, or 12 stories.
“Hospitals these days don’t necessarily spread out, they go vertical. We’re preparing for the future here,” said Bob Roeder of McKinney-based law firm Abernathy Roeder Boyd Hullett, representing the project applicant.
A conceptual stacking plan included in the zoning request shows a first phase with a five-story hospital featuring an emergency department, surgery space, women’s services floor and 60 inpatient beds. Further phases of construction could expand the hospital to 12 floors with 300 inpatient beds, as well as two adjacent medical office buildings, according to city documents.
One of the zoning requests would allow for the development of multifamily units on a northwest section of the property, with a maximum of 50 units per acre, according to proposed development regulations. Other zoning exceptions requested would change screening requirements on a portion of the property, as well as allowing required trees to be placed along pedestrian paths near the hospital.
Diving in deeper
Roeder said the site is expected to be sold to a “major medical provider” to be developed into a hospital, and what will become a “major regional complex,” he said. City project documents identify Texas Health as the future hospital facility.
Texas Health Resources officials did not confirm the project as a future Texas Health facility but said the organization is considering the community for future growth.
“We have not solidified plans for an expanded presence in McKinney at this time, but the city and surrounding communities are areas we continue to watch in support of our goal of growing with the community,” a Texas Health Resources official said in an email.
The health and hospital system has 20 Texas hospitals, including locations in Frisco, Allen and Plano, and the system also includes surgery centers, short stay hospitals, urgent care centers and more.
Final action on the rezoning requests is expected to be taken by McKinney City Council members at a Dec. 2 meeting.
