GREENWOOD -- Land owned by the School District has gotten the official go-ahead to serve as the site of a medical clinic.
The City Council voted 4-1 to rezone property at 300 Westwood Ave. at its meeting Tuesday. A.C. Brown, who holds the Ward 3 Position 1 seat, voted against it while Lance Terry, Ward 2 Position 1 alderman, was absent.
Sonny Bell, city's planning director, said the rezoning will allow a new walk-in Mercy clinic to be built on the property, which is adjacent to U.S. 71 and Liberty Drive near Westwood Elementary School. The School District owns the land, and the clinic would be accessible through Liberty Drive.
Steve Gebhart, vice president of operations at Mercy Fort Smith, said Wednesday the new clinic will include traditional primary care five days per week, expanded space for eight primary care providers, X-ray and lab services and dedicated space for walk-in, acute care patients. The clinic will be about 10,500 square feet in size.
"The overall long-term clinic strategy for this market is to grow our primary care access by doubling the Mercy primary care providers in Greenwood, as well as add walk-in, acute care access during the business day and expanded hours evenings/weekends," Gebhart said.
"There is currently a deficit of primary care physicians in the River Valley area. Greenwood is one of the fastest growing communities in this market, and Mercy's presence in Greenwood is essential to the community."
Greenwood's downtown area is already home to Mercy Clinic Family Medicine at 20 N. Aster St.
Bell said Mercy leadership told him they don't intend to close the facility after the new clinic is finished. The clinic project has been a collaboration between Greenwood, the School District and Mercy.
Jeff Turner, city street director, said the City Council's approval of the rezoning was necessary to move the project forward.
Gebhart said Mercy has agreed to buy about 4.69 acres from the School District for $350,000. The design and construction process for the planned clinic is expected to take about 18 months, although a construction date hasn't been set yet.
"Now that rezoning is approved, Mercy has completed its due diligence of the property and will be prepared to close on the purchase once the School Board provides final approval at its board meeting on Dec. 15," Gebhart said.
Bell said in addition to the rezoning, the School District has agreed to grant Greenwood a 50-foot total easement to allow the city to build a road in the future linking Liberty Drive and Westwood Avenue, providing a second entrance and exit to the Westwood subdivision.
Bell explained Westwood has only one way in and out, Westwood Avenue. He said people who live there have difficulty getting out of their own neighborhood to go to work due to morning and afternoon traffic stemming from Westwood Elementary School.
"Most of them, like everybody else in Greenwood, go to work in Fort Smith, and so they pull out onto Center Street and turn left," Bell said. "Well, here comes the traffic from downtown. And a lot of them will turn east and go a couple of blocks and make a U-turn and then go west."
Tim Terry, Ward 2 Position 2 alderman, made the motion to approve the first reading of the rezoning ordinance. His motion included the condition the rezoning was contingent on the School District providing Greenwood the 50-foot total easement. The City Council fully approved the ordinance in accordance with state law afterward.
The rezoning
The ordinance the Greenwood City Council approved Tuesday changes the zoning of the property at 300 Westwood Ave. from a single-family residential district to a highway commercial district.
Source: Greenwood