Developers Revise Plans for Premier Health-Anchored Medical Facility Proposed Near UD

Developers revise plans for Premier Health-anchored medical facility proposed near UD bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2021/07/15/premier-health-ud-south-park-methodist-church.html

New renderings of the facility incorporate the century-old former South Park Methodist Church into the design.

By Jacob Fisher – Staff Reporter, Dayton Business Journal Jul 15, 2021 Updated Jul 15, 2021, 3:46pm EDT The developers behind a Premier Health-anchored medical facility proposed near the University of Dayton now plan to incorporate a nearly century-old former church into the building's design.

Updated plans for the development would preserve much of the 11,000-square-foot former South Park Methodist Church on Brown Street near Patterson Homestead, repurposing the 96-year-old building to provide space for physical and occupational rehabilitation services.

Development partners UD, Premier Health, Woodard Development and Crawford Hoying would reconfigure the building’s parking lot and maintain mature trees along the north property line. They would also expand a buffer between the parking area and residences to the west of the property.

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The original plan unveiled in April would have involved the demolition of the former church, which was built in 1925 and closed in 2016.

Revisions to the plan came after months of dialogue with the community — including the nonprofit Preservation Dayton Inc., which encouraged the development partners to pursue an adaptive reuse for the historic property.

Developers presented their updated plans to community members July 14.

"We appreciate our partnership with the neighbors and Preservation Dayton and their encouragement to take a second look at the site," Jason Woodard, principal of Woodard Development, said in a statement.

"It is not always possible to reuse a long-vacant, special-use building such as a former church," he said. "But by taking a second look in this case, we were pleased to find a feasible way to balance the preservation of the building while integrating a new structure that will together provide the necessary space for these medical services."

Premier Health would anchor the building and will provide healthcare services for the community, including primary care and orthopedic physicians; imaging, lab and rehabilitation services; and counseling services through Samaritan Behavioral Health. The facility will also provide an employer clinic for UD’s nearly 2,700 full-time employees, including evening and weekend urgent care for staff and students.

In the initial project announcement, the development partners said they planed to begin construction this spring, with completion expected in summer 2022.

The proposal is still subject to city approval.

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