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NEWS
THE MESA TRIBUNE | JUNE 26, 2022
Mental health hospital planned for tech corridor
BY SCOTT SHUMAKER Tribune Staff Writer
M
ental health provider Acadia Healthcare is seeking city planners’ approval for a 100-bed behavioral health hospital north of Elliot and Ellsworth Roads in southeast Mesa. The city Design Review Board considered site plans for the one-story, 73,720 square-foot building on June 14. According to Mesa planning department staff, the city determined the facility falls under the definition of a hospital or clinic, which is allowed in the parcel’s current light industrial zoning. That means the project is eligible for administrative approval, meaning it won’t need city council approval. However, due to concerns raised by the public, the applicant elected to process the site plan as a zoning application, a city planner said, so the project will be reviewed by the Planning and Zoning Board. The hospital will still not require council approval, the planner said, unless the Planning and Zoning Board’s decision is appealed. The facility is proposed for a vacant 12acre site at the northwest corner of Ellsworth Road and Peterson Avenue. The in-patient hospital would have a floor area of 73,720 square feet plus five activity yards totaling almost 30,000 square feet. The yards which are secured with 12-foot walls. Arcadia’s design includes plans for two possible future additions, including 4,270 square feet for an additional 20 beds and a 6,570 square foot outpatient clinic. The site plan provides 229 parking spaces, one more than the 228 required under the zoning. The footprint of the hospital and roadways will take up about 46% of the site. More than 75% of the remaining space on the site will be landscaped. The landscape plan calls for 298 new desertadapted trees to be planted on the property, among other features.
The proposed behavioral health hospital would be located on 12 acres on the northwest corner of Ellsworth Road and Peterson Avenue. (City of Mesa) “Arizona has a shortage of behavioral health beds and resources,” Arcadia
wrote the Tribune. “We know this new hospital will expand access to quality be-
Acadia Healthcare proposes multiple units for treating various mental illnesses. . (City of Mesa)
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havioral health care services, providing healing and hope to those in need in Mesa and the surrounding communities.” Acadia Healthcare currently has three facilities in the Phoenix-metro area: An opioid treatment center in Scottsdale, an in-patient hospital in Chandler and an “intensive outpatient center” in Scottsdale. In documents submitted with the application for the Mesa project, Arcadia said the company currently operates 230 health care facilities in 40 states and Puerto Rico. “Acadia is the largest stand-alone behavioral health company in the U.S.,” the company states on its website. “Acadia provides behavioral healthcare services to its patients in a variety of settings, including inpatient psychiatric hospitals, specialty treatment facilities, residential treatment centers and outpatient clinics.” According to project documents, the inpatient facility will be split into five units, serving both adolescents and adults. One adult psychiatric unit will focus on thought disorders while another will be for people with mood disorders. There also will be an adult dual diagnosis unit and an older adult/geriatric psychiatric unit. There also will be treatment of trauma and stress-related disorders as well as a psychiatric unit for children and teens. According to its website, Acadia’s in-patient hospitals provide 24/7 care for individuals experiencing mental health crises. Services include detoxification from drugs and alcohol, medication management, individual therapy, group and family therapy, and experiential therapy. Other planned or existing projects in the vicinity of the new behavioral health hospital include a Dignity Health medical office building, a mixed-use medical office and commercial center, the Elliott Gateway commercial warehouse complex, the Mesa Elliott Technology Park and the Comarch Data Center.
Contact Paul Maryniak at 480-898-5647 or pmaryniak@timespublications.com
