St. Clair Hospital planning expansion
Plans for a new ambulatory care center at St. Clair Hospital have moved forward with approvals for variances by Mt. Lebanon Zoning Hearing Board.
The 286,500-square-foot structure is intended as a “one-stop shop for outpatient services,” according to Tami Greene, project manager for Pittsburgh architectural firm IKM Inc.
She and John Schrott III, IKM president and a Mt. Lebanon resident, described the project during a Dec. 7 hearing that culminated with board members unanimously approving requests for variances with regard to building height, parking configuration and exterior signage.
“In order to support the size of the building that the hospital needs to have to address their expanding services, we needed to amass a big enough footprint,” Schrott, whose firm is providing professional services for the project, said.
As a result, North Wren Drive, to the west of hospital property, will be rerouted to allow sufficient space for the new building. In turn, Wren will meet Bower Hill Road directly across the street from Firwood Drive, creating a more properly configured four-way intersection.
Map data ©2017 Google
Map data ©2017 Google
The Scott Township line runs southeast along the current configuration of North Wren Drive. Plans call for St. Clair Hospital’s new ambulatory care center to be located in both Scott and Mt. Lebanon after the street is realigned.
“That gave us enough property. It also put the building half in Mt. Lebanon and half in Scott Township,” Schrott said, meaning the project must secure necessary approvals in both municipalities.
Scott already granted a variance with regard to parking, helping to clear the way for 190 spaces in the building’s proposed two-story interior garage.
In Mt. Lebanon, a variance also was required for a height of 55 feet, which would exceed the municipal code’s maximum by 10 feet.
Greene explained the logistics necessary for the services to be offered by the ambulatory care center, including surgery, imaging, rehabilitation, physicians’ offices, a pharmacy, support space for staff members and areas for family members of patients. Expanding the size rather than adding to the height would not be feasible.
“As far as making the building bigger to accommodate the spaces that we need, rather than higher, we’re right out on setbacks,” Greene said about requirements for encroaching on property lines. “There’s really no room.”
Regarding the other variance, the request was for a 120-square-foot sign to be placed atop the new building, with the intent of allowing for motorists to see it from a distance.
The hospital’s Mt. Lebanon portion is a conditional use with a residential district, where the top square footage permitted is only 12 square feet. In a commercial district, the maximum is 50 square feet.
After going through the planning processes in Scott and Mt. Lebanon, the ambulatory care center is subject to final approvals by commissioners in both municipalities.
As announced by state Rep. Dan Miller, D-Mt. Lebanon, a $1.25 million grant from the state Department of Community and Economic Development’s Multimodal Transportation Fund Program is helping to pay for the project to line up North Wren and Firwood drives.
“The two roads are currently offset by 80 feet,” Miller said, “which causes inefficient traffic movement, limited sight distance and reduced pedestrian safety.”