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Manvel City Council voted unanimously at its Sept. 8 meeting to approve the first reading of a special use permit for a $10 million freestanding emergency center along Highway 6.
What you need to know
The 1.07-acre facility will be owned by South Shore ER LLC, which is led by board-certified emergency physician Dr. Suchmor Thomas. Thomas owns Friendswood Community Hospital and South Shore ER in League City, among other medical facilities, as previously reported.
Sorting out details
City staff recommended approval of the SUP under some of the following conditions:
A 10-foot-wide landscape buffer must be added between the development and residential development.
No rear parking along the back fence line to keep vehicles and headlights away from adjacent homes.
An 8-foot masonry privacy wall along the rear property line to block noise and light, pending coordination with the neighboring HOA.
Full-cut off fixtures, meaning all outdoor lighting must be fully shielded and directed downward.
Main traffic must enter directly from a dedicated curb cut off Highway 6 to prevent patient traffic from cutting behind neighborhood streets.
How we got here
City Council previously denied the SUP at its May 2025 meeting due to access and noise concerns.
Now that the concerns have been addressed, council members and Mayor Dan Davis said it’s a project they can get behind.
“I think the changes … put in here address many of the concerns from last time,” Davis said at the meeting. “[The developer] going back to the drawing board, coming up with a plan, it’s something I can fully get behind.”
What’s next
City Council will consider the second and final reading at its Sept. 21 meeting, according to city documents.
