AdventHealth Kansas City plans to build a new cancer center at its Shawnee Mission campus in Merriam.
Where exactly? The preliminary development plan shows that AdventHealth wants to replace a two-story parking garage with a cancer center.
This would be on the north side of West 74th Street, to the west of the Shawnee Mission Heart and Vascular Center, as pictured below where the blue start is.
The parking garage that will be replaced is not the most recently built parking garage located off of 73rd Street.
The details: AdventHealth wants to build a three-story, 71,000-square-foot cancer center. Currently, the health system’s cancer center is located across the street from where the proposed center will be, 9301 W. 74th Street (Suite 100).
AdventHealth plans to construct a new parking lot to the north of the proposed medical office building, as well.
Although the new medical office building will require the removal of 546 parking spaces, AdventHealth will add 229 spaces back, city staff said at a Merriam Planning Commission meeting Wednesday night.
With the removals and additions of parking spaces, city staff estimates the entire lot will offer more than 4,000 parking spaces for a total surplus of 172.
Still, planning commissioners expressed concerns not about the overall number of parking spaces, but scheduling patients in a way that allows them to park near the building to which they need to go.
Ultimately, the planning commissioners agreed this was an operational issue that falls on the health system.
Key quote: “I know one day, I went up there and I drove around for 20 minutes,” Commissioner Leah Ann McCormick said. “I was late to my appointment just looking for a parking place and found one probably about three blocks away. It’s better if you can avoid that.”
What’s next: The planning commission unanimously approved the preliminary development plan. Commissioner Mitchell Fowler was absent.
The approval outlined four conditions, including authorizing Community Development Director Bryan Dyer to administratively approve the final development plan, according to city documents.
