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The Next Frontier:
Northwest Oakland
Building plans anticipate big boom
November 8, 2007
BY JOHN WISELY
FREE PRESS
STAFF WRITER
Each Sunday, the 300 to 400 worshippers at Divine
Mercy parish in Davisburg pray for the future of their flock.
Temporarily housed in a rented school cafeteria,
the Catholic parish is eager to build a church on 144 acres of
nearby farmland the archdiocese bought in 2001.
"We pray every week for our parish," said Msgr.
John Budde, who leads a congregation that became a formal parish in
July. "We think there is tremendous potential for growth."
They aren't the only ones. Despite an economic
downturn across the state, northwestern Oakland County -- from
outside of Clarkston to the Genesee County line -- is showing signs
of growth. The population in the northwest
corner is expected to grow more than 21% by 2030, a rate more than
double that for the county as a whole, according to
forecasts from the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments.
The six-township area added almost 20,000 people
in the 1990s, and demographers expect it to grow from about 90,000
now to about 109,000 by 2030. Nowhere else in metro Detroit is such
a small population center in line for such expensive infrastructure
investments.
Far beyond the plans for the church -- which
could grow to include a school, a gymnasium and an activities center
-- the I-75 corridor has more than $1
billion in projects on tap.
They include:
• Almost $700 million in
new health care facilities from Flint-based McLaren
Health Care Corp. and Royal Oak-based Beaumont Hospital just 3 miles
apart in Independence Township.
• A Detroit Water and Sewerage Department water
main along I-75, from Orion Township to Flint, the largest expansion
of the system in a generation.
• A controversial $533-million widening of I-75
-- one of the region's busiest freeways -- through the southern half
of Oakland County, which would speed commutes for residents north of
M-59.
Smaller projects also are paving the way for
growth. The 2 1/2 -square-mile Village of
Holly completed $20 million in public improvements this summer,
including an expansion of its community well and sewerage system,
which can serve development in surrounding Holly Township.
"It's ripening," Oakland County Executive L.
Brooks Patterson said of the county's northwestern frontier. "There
are other areas, too, but development follows expressways and
sewers, no doubt about it."
Others also see opportunity in an area with
freeway access, low property taxes and a growing list of amenities.
With the UAW contracts
with Detroit automakers nearly settled, "we're pretty optimistic
that ... there is going to be a big potential boost to consumer
confidence," said Richard Komer of the Building Industry Association
of Southeast Michigan. "The communities that border I-75 will do
quite well."
The projects aren't directly affected by falling
property values in Oakland County because they don't rely on
property taxes. The hospitals raise their own money, often through
bond issues obtained at discounts through public pass-through
agencies, and water rates will fund the water project. State and
federal highway dollars are expected to pay for the I-75 expansion.
But others say the movement to the exurbs is
waning because of Michigan's economy, and that money needed for some
of these developments could fall through or is unsecured. Water
customers across the region, who would be billed for the new main,
could launch another rate fight. The I-75 widening project relies
mostly on federal dollars that haven't been secured.
"They have no money for that," said Keith
Schneider, founder of the Michigan Land Use Institute, a nonprofit
that advocates redevelopment of existing areas.
Dueling hospitals
The region's aging population, particularly in
Oakland County, is fueling the hospital-building boom.
"The number of people over 65 is going to more
than double in the next 30 years," said James Rogers, data center
manager for SEMCOG.
Rogers said Oakland County has about 142,000
residents older than 65 now, and that number will grow to 332,000 by
2035.
The Clarkston area lies halfway between Pontiac
and Grand Blanc, and the two major hospital systems are pouring
hundreds of millions of dollars into it in the next few years.
McLaren plans a
$600-million medical village on 78 acres just off I-75, about 2
miles south of the Pine Knob Ski Resort. Steel girders
for the first phase of the project, a 135,000-square-foot medical
building, should go into the ground this month, said Kevin Tompkins,
McLaren's vice president of marketing.
The plan calls for an outpatient surgery
facility, a breast care clinic, a cancer center, office space and
medical education facilities. It also calls for a 200 to 300 bed
hospital with an emergency room, though state approval is still
needed.
"If you look at the north Oakland community,
you've got a growth rate that's above the state average," Tompkins
said. "We feel we've got a great opportunity here."
Beaumont Hospital sees similar trends. It owns 62
acres on the northwestern corner of I-75 and M-15. Officials hope to
win township approval this month for the Beaumont Life Care Campus
Independence Township, said Eric Hunt, vice president of ambulatory
services.
The first phase will cost about $70 million and
include an outpatient clinic and medical center. Later phases call
for a wellness center, a second medical building, a nursing and
rehabilitation center and eventually a 100-bed hospital. The final
cost has not been calculated yet, and state approval is still needed
for parts of the plan.
Hunt said Beaumont already has a 20% market share
of inpatient admissions from the Clarkston area, and 300 of its
employees live within 5 miles of the site.
"We believe it's well-placed," Hunt said.
Both projects can tap community wells, but
Detroit water could be an option in the future. The Detroit Water
and Sewerage Department expects bids this month on designs for a
water main running through the area, department spokesman George
Ellenwood said.
"It will roughly follow along I-75, though the
exact route won't be known until the design is completed," Ellenwood
said.
Some Oakland County officials have questioned the
plan. They've joined with Genesee and Macomb counties to study
pumping Lake Huron water across the Thumb to form a second system
that could serve as a backup to Detroit and pose a check on rate
increases, Drain Commissioner John McCulloch said.
Ellenwood said the plan serves all customers by
helping to regulate water pressure system-wide and providing a
backup route to Flint, which buys Detroit water. But the main also
can be built large enough to serve new customers in Independence,
Springfield, Groveland and Holly townships, he said.
Those communities use wells, some of which
require extra filtration to remove naturally occurring arsenic.
Some residents resist
Northwest Oakland residents sometimes have fought
new development. Citizens for Orderly Growth, a watchdog group in
Independence Township, has an e-mail roster of more than 600 people.
Randy Golab, 40, who lives next to the proposed
Beaumont site, said the hospital projects already are changing the
area.
"If it goes through, I'm going to have a 70-bed
assisted living center with a parking lot 10 feet from where my kids
play," Golab said. "The biggest problem with Beaumont is they are
coming right into a residential area, your property values be
damned."
The widening of I-75 to four lanes in each
direction from M-59 to 8 Mile Road is approved for engineering and
construction between 2011 and 2015, said Carmine Palombo, director
of transportation projects for SEMCOG. But funding for the project,
including about $426 million in federal money, has yet to be
secured. Palombo said it likely would come from several federal
programs still being pursued.
Some residents hope those investments pay off.
"I don't want to see uncontrolled growth, but it
would be good to get some," said Kim Butts, who owns Broad Street
Station, a bar in Holly.
The village just spent $20 million expanding its
water and sewer systems to serve surrounding Holly Township and
refurbishing its downtown to prepare for growth.
At Divine Mercy, plans continue to build, even as
Detroit churches with dwindling flocks close. On Friday evenings
after classes end at Davisburg Elementary School, Debbie Mockeridge
and other volunteers unpack worship materials from a trailer and
turn the cafeteria into a weekend church.
"It's been a lot of fun to be part of the start
of something," Mockeridge said.
Autoworkers praise contract that keeps factories open, makes
temp workers permanent.
Sharon Terlep / The Detroit News
FLINT -- Joyful hooting and applause
erupted from United Auto Workers Local 599 on Sunday afternoon, the
sounds wafting down a city street blighted by decaying homes,
weed-choked lawns and rusted cars.
The celebration came as hundreds of General
Motors Corp. factory workers learned details of a new labor pact
that guarantees plants in their battered blue-collar town will stay
open for years to come.
The agreement calls for a new factory to be built
near the old Buick City complex, according to several local union
leaders who saw the deal. GM plans to build
an engine plant that would employ 600 to 800 workers, the
sources said.
"I'm going to be able to take care of my kids
better now," said 31-year-old Lezander Thompson, a grin spreading
across his face. Thompson, who works at the Flint North Powertrain
plant represented by Local 599, is among thousands of temporary
workers who will become permanent employees at a higher pay scale
under the deal. "This feels good," he said.
The UAW began to roll out details of the landmark
agreement this weekend, as hundreds of rank-and-file workers turned
out for Sunday afternoon meetings at two Flint union locals.
In coming days, thousands more workers will
attend similar meetings at locals across the country in preparation
for a ratification vote on the deal.
Union officers from across the country
unanimously voted in favor of the agreement Friday, the first step
in the ratification process.
Rank-and-file members will vote on the deal
between now and Oct. 10 at separate local elections.
The tentative agreement, reached last week after
a two-day strike, includes unprecedented job guarantees for 16
assembly factories and dozens of parts plants across the nation.
But in few towns was the excitement more palpable
than in Flint, where many see a deal that gives the hard-luck town a
reprieve from its decades-long demise. GM's plant closings in the
1980s cost the city 30,000 jobs and became the subject of Michael
Moore's documentary, "Roger and Me," an unflattering portrayal of a
rust belt despair.
"It's stopped the bleeding -- for years we've
been bleeding," said Walt Duvernois, president of Local 658, which
represents workers at the Flint Metal Center. "People are pretty
excited."
In addition to the promise of new products,
temporary workers were jubilant to learn they would be hired in
permanently at the higher wage rate. GM hired temp workers to fill
openings created by last year's massive buyout program.
The agreement also calls for the creation of a
massive company-funded, union-run trust to fund retiree health care.
GM will pay about $35 billion to offload $50 billion in retiree
obligations.
"They did a lot better than I thought they
would," said Martin Duff, who has worked at Flint North for more
than 20 years. "Everybody is taken care of, from the temp workers to
the guy that retired 10 years ago."
In the end, what were supposed to be major points
of contention -- two-tier wages, the shift of retiree health care to
the union -- meant almost nothing to workers who only wanted a
secure paycheck.
"There's bad times all over the world right now
-- for us to get what we did, it's a good deal," said Timothy
Heller, who's worked 22 years at the metal center. "The state can't
even get together to get an agreement. You have to be thankful."
The deal promises to pump work into Flint-area
factories that employ more than 6,000 blue-collar laborers.
Flint Truck and Bus will build full-size trucks
and heavy duty commercial cabs until 2011, according to a summary of
the deal distributed to union leaders last week. Starting in 2012,
the plant will start building the next line of trucks and cabs.
Parts plants were given similar promises.
The new facility would build three types of
engines, producing about 1,200 a day, union sources said. The work
is expected to help compensate for the loss of GM's 3.8-liter V-6
engine, which it built at Flint North and is being phased out next
year.
In all, six Michigan
assembly plants were promised work for at least another five years.
Some of the guarantees will carry plants for almost a decade. GM's
Delta Township plant near Lansing, for example, will begin building
a new line of large crossovers in 2012.
The promise of work was GM's major tradeoff to
get the union to agree to two-tier wages, a system the union has
fought for years. The lower wage rate will be as low as $14 an hour
and will apply to jobs considered "non-core" automotive jobs, such
as working in the paint shop and driving finished vehicles.
"The way things are right now," said Bruce
Mothershed, a 30-year GM worker from Flint Township. "We did pretty
good."
Detroit News Staff Writer Louis Aguilar
contributed to this report. You can reach Sharon Terlep at (313)
223-4686 or
sterlep@detnews.com.
McLaren Health Village
$600 Million Construction Project
Just 10 minutes from Pheasant Ridge Estates on Sashabaw Road!
Only 15 minutes to the south from Riverside North in Holly!
$300,000,000
1,168,000
May
2007
NA
McLaren Health
Care
NA
RTKL,
Chicago; Hobbs+Black
Ambulatory surgery center, diagnostic imaging
center, urgent care center, physical therapy,
occupational therapy and sports medicine, spine
center, sleep disorders center, dialysis center,
physician offices, other health-related services
The $300 million figure you see here is for
the medical village that is only part of the
grand vision of Flint-based McLaren for
Independence Township.
The company, which also acquired Mt. Clemens
Regional Medical Center in 2005, also
envisions a $300 million hospital as part of
the campus. That would require
Certificate-of-Need approval from the state
... and that usually engenders a battle.
Included in the medical village are an
ambulatory surgery center, diagnostic
imaging center, urgent care center, physical
therapy, occupational therapy and sports
medicine, spine center, sleep disorders
center, dialysis center, physician offices
and other health-related services. The
company also plans retail space.
INDEPENDENCE TWP. Crews are set
to break ground on phase one of a $600 million
medical project by McLaren Health Care Corp. in
June.
Advertisement
Although a 200-bed hospital is
slated for a few years down the road, officials are
discussing possibilities for obtaining a certificate
of need now.
"We're constantly exploring new
opportunities with different health care providers
about various ways to collaborate," said Kevin
Tompkins, McLaren vice president of marketing.
"Those talks can take on different forms."
The Independence Township Board
of Trustees has approved the final reading of the
developer's phased plan, which encompasses 77 acres
on the southeast corner of Interstate 75 and
Sashabaw Road.
Tompkins said McLaren, which owns
seven hospitals in mid-Michigan, has grown 20
percent each year for the past 18 years through
acquisitions and mergers.
One prospect is POH Medical
Center in Pontiac.
Officials from both sides said
they're having preliminary conversations, but
stressed there's no deal yet.
"Anything and everything is a
possibility these days. We need to find out who the
best players are for us to partner with," said
Patrick Lamberti, president and CEO of POH Medical
Center.
McLaren's first acquisition was
Lapeer Regional Medical Center in Lapeer. The
organization also has acquired Ingham Regional
Medical Center in Lansing, Bay Regional Medical
Center in Bay City, and Mount Clemens Regional
Medical Center in Mount Clemens.
The need
To do business, hospitals in the
state must demonstrate that there's a particular
health service need in the community.
According to existing standards
set by an 11-member body called the Certificate of
Need Commission, the area that includes Oakland does
not need a new hospital, said Larry Horvath, manager
of the Certificate of Need Section for the Michigan
Department of Community Health.
That doesn't mean another one
cannot be approved.
"The potential to obtain a
certificate of need could be, if someone acquired an
existing hospital and replaced it to a new
geographical site within its relocation zone,"
Horvath said. "Then the old hospital would close."
But the relocation zone is 2
miles - far less than the distance between Pontiac
and Independence Township.
Still, hospitals or interested
parties can attempt to change the standards by
submitting a request to the Michigan Department of
Community Health. If the commission decides to amend
them, there would be a public hearing. Then, the
governor and Legislature review the material for 45
days and can approve or deny the request.
Historically, hospitals aren't
closed down when they're acquired by McLaren,
Tompkins contended.
"It's business as usual, just run
by McLaren instead. Sometimes the original names
don't even change," he said, noting that McLaren
offers cost-saving incentives and reduces
duplication of services, allowing the facility to
save money.
Lamberti said financially, POH is
"holding its own." The hospital is licensed for 208
beds and is staffed for 160, which are usually full.
So far, no letter of intent or
applications have been filed for a hospital in north
Oakland County.
The Certificate of Need
Commission has determined that 2,732 beds are needed
in sub-area 1A - which includes a cluster of 15
hospitals drawing from the same market in portions
of Oakland and Macomb counties. Now, the area has
about 1,213 more beds than required - equal to four
more 300-bed hospitals.
Residents are concerned.
"(McLaren) is partnering with POH
at the very time they need the beds," said Neil
Wallace, Independence Township resident and member
of Citizens for Orderly Growth, a grassroots group
that promotes planned development. "We just don't
need additional hospital beds in the region and
transferring them from Pontiac to Independence isn't
creating new jobs for the county, which takes away
the entire premise for approving McLaren."
Don't want help
About six years ago, McLaren
tried to acquire North Oakland Medical Centers in
Pontiac, where there are serious financial
difficulties.
But the North Oakland Medical
Centers Board of Directors turned down the request,
said Pontiac Councilman Everett Seay, who is
chairman of the council subcommittee for the
hospital.
"We always believe that when
we're looking or working with another hospital, we
want to bring value to it. If we can't, then what's
in it for them to come into our system?" Tompkins
asked.
Seay answered that the board
didn't want to risk losing health service, hospital
beds or jobs to the suburbs.
"I don't think it's conducive or
even wise when we have a need from the aging
population and the increased number of runs in this
urban area. There would have been a void in our
health delivery system," Seay said.
"That speaks more to trying to
secure dollars than trying to secure a health
delivery system which is needed. Plus, it takes away
from those who have a difficulty paying in favor of
those who have better insurance," he said.
North Oakland Medical Centers
absorbs at least $1 million a year in costs that
aren't reimbursed by uninsured patients, Seay noted.
"We do it because people need us. When seconds count
with gunshot wounds or heart attacks, that speaks
volumes to having services here - POH is paramount
to our system, as well."
St. Joseph Mercy-Oakland is the
third Pontiac hospital.
Deputy Oakland County Executive
Dennis Toffolo said if urban hospital beds were
transferred to the suburbs, it would not have a
negative effect.
"It's about rebalancing. People
are getting older, and migration and traffic
patterns are shifting north," Toffolo said. "We need
vibrant hospitals today in light of the industry."
Pontiac's population is estimated
at 66,000 to 68,000 versus Independence Township,
which has at least 40,000.
It comes down to whether a
hospital can afford to maintain its bed capacity,
Toffolo said.
"We never want to overbuild,
because it would be a shame to have empty beds -
that would cost the taxpayers," he added.
Economy affects all
With the stifled economy,
Lamberti said medical organizations are
re-evaluating the way they do business.
For example, Beaumont Hospitals
is in negotiations to acquire Bon Secours Hospital
in Grosse Pointe.
"Life is changing in southeast
Michigan and what has to be done for all hospitals
is to have an attitude of cooperation and
collaboration," he said.
The McLaren Medical Care Village
will take up to seven years to complete.
Phase one includes a
130,000-square-foot office building for primary and
specialty-care physicians. Through a partnership,
Clarkston Medical Group will move in. Also planned
for the building is a 15,000-square-foot ambulatory
surgical facility, a 30,000-square-foot cancer
center and 45,000 square feet of mixeduse retail
office space.
Phase two is the hospital with
three five-story towers and an emergency center, as
well as a cardio and diagnostic center. Phase three
is a 100-bed expansion of the hospital and two
additional medical office buildings.
"Our long-term vision is to offer
a full-service, one-stop shop campus and it's up to
us to demonstrate to the state and certificate of
need process a need for a variety of things -
including a hospital in that market," Tompkins said.
Meanwhile, Beaumont Hospitals
executives presented preliminary plans to the
township board for a phased Life Care Campus, with a
four-story, 192-bed hospital on 62 acres at the
northwest corner of I-75 and M-15.
Toffolo said, "Hospitals are
jockeying for positions near where the customer
demand is."
CONSTRUCTION UNDERWAY ON
$600 MILLION STATE-OF-THE-ART “HEALTH CARE VILLAGE” IN CLARKSTON
McLaren Corporate and subsidiary news
10/12/2007
First-Class Project Will Provide Greater Clarkston
Area With Comprehensive Array Of High-Quality Health Care Services
Ceremonial Groundbreaking Celebrated By McLaren Health Care Corporation
And Clarkston Medical Group
Construction of one of the first one-stop health care
destinations in Oakland County is underway. Groundbreaking ceremonies
were held this past summer on the McLaren Health Care Village, a health
care destination that will contain a full range of first-class health
care services.
McLaren Health Care, in collaboration with the
Clarkston Medical Group, is building the McLaren Health Care Village at
Clarkston to meet all of the medical needs of the Village of Clarkston,
Independence Township and surrounding communities. The Village is
located at the intersection of Sashabaw Road and Bow Pointe Drive,
within the Sashabaw Business District.
When complete, the Village will cover nearly 79 acres
and will include the Clarkston Medical Building, medical offices, an
ambulatory surgery center, a state-of-the-art cancer center, a heart
center, life science facilities, a 200- to 300-bed hospital, depending
on need and demonstrated demand.
“We’re very excited to become a member of the
Clarkston Community with the development of the McLaren Health Care
Village at Clarkston,” said McLaren Health Care President and CEO Philip
Incarnati. “We studied the area very carefully, and discovered that
comprehensive health care services weren’t available within the Greater
Clarkston area. We’re determined to provide the residents of the City of
Clarkston and Independence Township access to the most recent,
state-of-the-art technologies and comprehensive health care facilities.
We’re working with the Clarkston Medical Group, which has served this
community for almost a half century to help us do that.”
The Health Care Village brings together a top-rated
health care system with one of the premier physician groups of the
Clarkston community. McLaren Health Care hospitals, health plan and home
health agencies regularly earn recognition for excellence in patient and
customer care from national organizations including The Joint
Commission, National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), Michigan
Association of Health Plans, Plans, Solucient?, HealthGrades? and J.D.
Power and Associates among many others. McLaren has also won recognition
for its superior heart care, neurosurgery, orthopedics and cancer care.
McLaren’s long-standing joint venture with Michigan State University
also brings some of the most cutting-edge cancer treatments in the
nation to the Clarkston community.
For more than 45 years, 10,000 families have trusted
the Clarkston Medical Group’s 15 board-certified physicians for their
medical care.
“We’ve been vital to delivering the highest quality
health care to Clarkston area with a personal touch that can only come
with knowing every corner of this community,” said Clarkston Medical
Group Founder James O’Neill, M.D. “Now, with McLaren’s presence in
Clarkston, our patients will be able to get all of their health care
needs met at one place. We’ll be able to improve the health of our
community by delivering the same quality of care right in the place
where it is needed most in this community.”
The Village is designed to deliver the full continuum
of health care services using the most recent, state-of-the-art
technologies and health care facilities to provide prevention,
diagnosis, treatment and cure, efficiently and cost-effectively at one
site.
The $600 million project will be built in three
phases. The first phase will feature a new 135,000 sq. ft., medical
office building for the Clarkston Medical Group (CMG) that will include
a 15,000 sq. ft. ambulatory surgical center. A 30,000 sq. ft.
freestanding comprehensive cancer treatment center and beautiful healing
gardens with bike paths and walking trails will also be included in the
first phase. The lush, landscaped campus will be open to the community
to use and enjoy.
The second phase will include a state-of-the-art,
comprehensive cardiac center, three life science facilities, additional
medical office buildings and a 200-bed hospital depending on need and
demand. The third phase, contingent upon the community need, will add
100 hospital beds to the hospital.
The first phase is scheduled to be completed within
18 months. Future phases will be completed over the next five to seven
years.
Using environmentally friendly planning principles
such as storm water management, the development will be built to meet
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification
criteria. LEED certification is the U.S. government’s stamp of approval
on “green” projects.
Recognized by Verispan as one of the top Integrated
Health Networks in the nation, McLaren Health Care includes more than
150 locations, 15,000 employees and almost 3,600 physicians. It includes
eight regional hospitals: McLaren Regional Medical Center in Flint;
Lapeer Regional Medical Center; Ingham Regional Medical Center and
Ingham Regional Orthopedic Hospital in Lansing; Bay Regional Medical
Center and Bay Special Care Hospital in Bay City; and Mt. Clemens
Regional Medical Center in Mt. Clemens and POH Regional Medical Center
in Pontiac. Visiting Nurse Services of Michigan, an award winning home
health provider, and McLaren Health Plan, a top rated commercial and
Medicaid HMO, are also a part of the system.
McLaren Health Care registered more than $3.1 billion
in revenue in 2006 and logged more than 268,560 Emergency Room visits,
almost 2.7 million outpatient visits and 90,352 inpatient admissions.
The Clarkston Medical Group employs 15 board
certified physicians in pediatrics, internal medicine, family practice
and emergency medicine. More than 120 nurses, medical technicians,
receptionists, billing, and management staff work together to achieve
one goal: to focus on providing the highest quality medical care to our
patient.
State-of-the-Art Healthcare
Village to be Constructed in
Michigan
Posted on: 07/18/2007
CLARKSTON, Mich. -- The
construction of one of Oakland
County's first one-stop
healthcare destinations will
help save lives and provide
high-quality care to Clarkston,
and
will also create a $600 million
to $800 million annual economic
boon to the area.
McLaren Health Care, in
cooperation with the Clarkston
Medical Group, is building a
state-of-the-art, comprehensive
healthcare village at the
Symphony
Homes
The company, which also acquired Mt. Clemens Regional Medical Center in 2005, also envisions a $300 million hospital as part of the campus. That would require Certificate-of-Need approval from the state ... and that usually engenders a battle.
Included in the medical village are an ambulatory surgery center, diagnostic imaging center, urgent care center, physical therapy, occupational therapy and sports medicine, spine center, sleep disorders center, dialysis center, physician offices and other health-related services. The company also plans retail space.
For more information on McLaren click here.