An aerial view of the site of Methodist Health System’s future medical office on Live Oak and La Vista.
A defunct car wash will soon be replaced by a medical office building managed by the Texas-based Methodist Health System on the corner of Live Oak and La Vista.
“We plan to build a new facility with a targeted completion of construction in about six months,” says Methodist’s marketing manager Ruth Barclay. “We are building the facility with the potential to accommodate three physicians, but will start with one provider. The facility will provide all levels of primary care from helping patients manage chronic conditions to wellness exams.”
Plans call for the addition of a 3,500-square-foot building that will house the office. Consultant Peter Kavanagh of Zone Systems Inc. said the plan includes additional parking where the car wash canopy currently sits. (Read the plan here, click on BDA 145-84).
Because of the unusual triangular shape of the lot, developers went to the city’s Board of Adjustment last week seeking an exemption from the a city rule that requires a 10-foot landscape buffer between the building and the property line. To their credit, the developer had worked extensively with neighbors to find a solution that they found palatable, down to the types of trees to be grown on site. Neighbors asked that live oaks be planted as the required “canopy tree” buffer, and shrubs of holly will line the 8-foot fence to provide privacy.
“The idea is that these things will grow as tall as the fence,” Kavanagh said in the meeting.
Three neighbors attended the meeting to support the proposal, and praise Kavanagh for his efforts to include them in the process. The Board of Adjustments approved the plan with a 5-foot landscape buffer instead of the typical 10-foot buffer.
Because the proposal otherwise meets the zoning of the property, construction can begin now that the landscape exemption has been secured. Methodist Health System operates similar neighborhood medical offices all over Northern Texas.
As a side note, for the first time video of the Board of Adjustment’s meeting was posted on the city’s website. Public meeting fans can watch it here (the medical office discussion can be found in part three, at the 60 minute mark).
