City sells land to future operator of town’s first hospital

The city on Tuesday night approved the sale of 2.64 acres at the northeast corner of North Maricopa Road and Honeycutt Avenue to Exceptional Health Care Holdings.

The parcel, which sold for $1.38 million, provides the future operator of the city’s first hospital with land to expand. The $28 million hospital will open with about 10 emergency room beds, 10 trauma beds and a 24-hour emergency department. It is expected to be complete by late 2021.

Exceptional Health Care, a Texas-based hospital group, had closed on a 3.5-acre property near the southwest slope of the overpass in October 2019. But before ground was even broken at the site, the company said it wanted to acquire additional land for expansion, including a potential surgery department, MRI space, a specialty clinic and medical offices.

A suitable property nearby had already been purchased but City Manager Rick Horst was able to find that landowner a new location for his project. The city then purchased the 4.18-acre parcel and Tuesday night approved the sale of a 2.64-acre portion of the property to Exceptional Health Care.

The hospital will provide emergency and trauma care at a level the city currently lacks.

While not expected to provide in-patient care initially, the hospital will be constructed in phases to allow for the expansion. Its most important benefit to the community though, according to Mayor Christian Price, is its location.

“Getting this hospital is a huge benefit to our community,” Price said. “Now, if we have serious injuries or illness, patients have to go to either Chandler or Casa Grande, and that can be a little dicey on both those roads if there happens to be an accident. With the new hospital we can provide the trauma care here, then if they need longer-term care, they can get helicoptered to either Chandler or Casa Grande.”

In other actions, the city approved entering into a Memorandum of Understanding with Sequoia Pathway Academy to provide $105,372 for one School Resource Officer for four years, and an Intergovernmental Agreement between the City of Maricopa and the Maricopa Unified School District for $211,372 for the placement of two School Resource Officers over a four-year period.

According to police Cmdr. Jim Hughes, SROs are a crucial component of the relationship between schools and the police department.

“Resource officers interact with children every day and they also have an educational component in which they teach the students responsibility, how to interact with a police officer, help with traffic issues and a variety of other duties that enhance the school experience,” Hughes said. “Resource Officers are required to spend 75 percent of their time inside the school, so they really get to know the students. They can also help identify at risk kids and get them the help they many need. And finally, they help build the relationship between the schools and the police department, which is a crucial one.”

The council also approved the re-plat of five parcels within Rancho El Dorado, phase III, to examine new uses that may be more compatible with both the city’s and the developer’s needs than when the community was originally platted.

Finally, the council voted to cancel its Jan. 5 meeting, with the next to be held Jan. 19.