Oak Ridge North OKs sales tax agreement for Townsen Memorial expansion

Plans for the expansion of an ambulatory surgery center can move forward in Oak Ridge North, after City Council approved a sales tax preservation agreement with Townsen Memorial Surgery Center on May 27 to expand its facility at 26710 I-45 N.

The gist

The center, which opened in March, currently occupies 6,000 square feet, and the expansion will double the size, Rick Garcia, director of development with Townsen, told Community Impact. It has four operating rooms and will expand to six by the end of the year, he said.

The agreement will apply to the building currently in use, Building B, according to discussion at the meeting.

A Chapter 380 agreement provides sales tax incentives to a business over a period of time to stimulate economic activity in the city.

According to the agreement, the area where the building is located is zoned for retail unless a special exception is made for a provisional use by executing a sales tax preservation agreement.

The incentive approved by council in the agreement was for $73,126 per year, or $4 per square foot for an 18,000-square-foot building, for five years, to be paid to the city in lieu of sales tax. During the sixth through tenth year of the 10-year agreement term, the payment increases by 3% per year.

The backstory

The decision aligns with the city’s comprehensive plan, which includes a goal for “proactively cultivating high quality retail development to increase sales tax revenue,” according to the agreement.

Robert Garcia, a consultant for Townsen, told the board at a previous meeting April 27 that the company has 10 facilities in the Houston area and 14 clinical practices it is affiliated with that populate the properties.

The Oak Ridge North facility will see 40-60 patients a day with a peak staff of 25, Robert Garcia said.

There is another building on the property, Building C, which will also see expansion as medical office space, but is not a part of the current sales tax agreement, Rick Garcia said.

Before you go

Also at the May 27 meeting, council members were sworn in. In the May 2 election, Mayor Paul Bond won re-election, and council members Rick Moffatt, Place 1, and Alex Jones, Place 3, were sworn in. The council members were unopposed in the May 2 election.