COMMUNITY NEWS
Dominican Addition OK’d, $360M for Parking Garage, Surgery Center
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By Jondi Gumz
n June 8, Dominican Hospital got footage a poor way to analyze impact. The the unanimous go-ahead from hospital’s consultant projected an increase Santa Cruz County supervisors for of 148 vehicle trips with an increase of a $360 million project to build a new sur- 39 employees, and that a travel demand gical department and a three-story parking program and car pools could reduce the impact significantly. garage with 409 spaces. “We serve everyone, especially those The 222-bed hospital at 1555 Soquel Drive is the only one with an emer- who are unable to pay,” said Dr. Nanette gency room in north Santa Cruz County Mickiewicz, the hospital’s president and and staff played a key role in helping CEO. “This is an important investment,” the county get through the COVID-19 said Supervisor Zach Friend. pandemic. Supervisor Manu Koenig called The hospital has been using valet parking for some time to deal with the the proposed building beautiful and shortage of parking spaces as its facilities praised the way the planned landscaping would shield the got busier. Before the building from the pandemic, visitors neighborhood. often would circle the The project parking lots, hunting was designed by for a space that didn’t Devenney Group of seem to exist. Oakland, which speThe only cializes in health care issue that sparked developments. debate was whether Supervisor Ryan Dominican should Coonerty proposed pay $540,000 in a compromise in traffic impact fees, which Dominican the amount recomA rendering of a new patient room. would pay $88,000, mended by county planner Nathan McBeth based on based on the hospital’s analysis and then standard formulas for square footage, pay an additional $250,000 as a community as the new operating rooms will total benefit. However, that would leave the county 85,000 square feet, generating an estiPublic Works Department short by some mated new 901 vehicle trips. The end result will be 10 operating $200,000 toward planned improvements rooms; today there are eight. No patient on Soquel Drive, the main access route to rooms are being added, as current rooms the hospital, to boost its rating from Level with two beds will become single occu- D, with wait times barely acceptable by transportation standards, to Level C, with pancy with privacy. Deidre Hamilton of Hamilton Land has shorter wait times. County Public Works chief Matt Planning made a case to reduce the traffic impact fee to $88,000, calling square Machado has secured a $16 million state grant that requires $9 million in local matching funds, and the current budget picture is lean, with no similar-sized developments on the horizon to contribute traffic impact fees. “Without that funding, our improvements are at risk,” Coonerty conceded. Dominican also agreed to contribute A rendering of a new waiting area.
10 / June 15th 2021 / Aptos Times www.tpgonlinedaily.com
A rendering of the proposed parking garage.
about $622,000, a 43 percent share of a project to upgrade stormwater drainage. The project will start with the parking garage on Mission Drive. That will displace 140 employee parking spaces. Dominican’s solution is an agreement with Oakwood Memorial Park, the funeral home and cemetery that flanks the hospital on Paul Sweet Road, for employees to park. Once the parking garage is complete, the new operating rooms will be built the existing emergency department remodeled. Seismic upgrades mandated
by the state are part of the project, and creation of 60 private patient rooms from the former surgical department space. The project is expected to be completed within 10 years—so 2031. ••• Support this Project pportunities are available for community contributions to the improvement of Dignity Health Dominican Hospital. For information, call the Dominican Hospital Foundation, (831) 462-7712. n
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A rendering of the proposed pavilion.
