Mercy Gives City Updated Plans for New Building

The new Mercy Regional Medical Center's planned outpatient facility in Avon became a bit more real with Mercy's latest presentation at the Dec. 6 work session of City Council.

Representatives of Mercy, along with city planning coordinator Jim Piazza, showed council members plans, including drawings, for the property on Route 611 just southwest of the Interstate 90 interchange.

 In November, the city  asked Mercy to give an updated traffic analysis for the project, which will be an 82,000-square-foot outpatient medical facility. An architect's drawing depicted  a three-story building. Other drawings showed how the facility would be accessed from Route 611.

The entrance to the new Mercy facility would be on the west side of Route 611, just south of the Interstate 90 overpass, across Route 611 from the entrances to BJ's Wholesale Club and Mulligan's Pub and Grille.

With a traffic signal and lanes already in place there for access to BJ's and Mulligan's, Piazza said, arranging the road to include people turning into the Mercy facility will be easier than if those weren't there.

There would be some widening of Route 611 south of the Interstate 90 overpass to allow for turn lanes into the facility.

Mercy intends to build in its own on-site stormwater basin system.

Both Piazza and city engineer Robert Knopf told council they were satisfied with Mercy's updated information and plans.

Mercy plans to begin construction in the spring. The project should be finished by the end of 2012.

OTHER BUSINESS

Hricovec remembered:  Several council members paid tribute to the memory of Bill Hricovec, the owner of Tom's Country Place, who died Nov. 28. Several talked about how Hricovec not only represented "old Avon," but also embraced the  growth and development in the city he loved. Hricovec even loved being stuck in traffic generated by events at All Pro Freight Stadium, Smith said, because it meant people were coming to his beloved Avon.

City waiting for Salvation Army news: Law Director John Gasior asked that any discussion of the Salvation Army's plans to develop a 28,000-square-foot retail store be tabled. Gasior said that it was at the request of the Salvation Army, which wanted to wait until the sale of the property on Middle Avenue near City Hall was finalized. Gasior said the Salvation Army expects the deal to be done by early January at the latest.