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.
Just 10 minutes from Pheasant Ridge Estates on Sashabaw Road!
$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
intersection of Sashabaw Road
and Bow Pointe Drive. Designed
to provide a full range of
first-class healthcare services
to the Greater Clarkston area,
when completed, the healthcare
village will cover nearly 79
acres and include the Clarkston
Medical Building, medical
offices, an ambulatory surgery
center, a state-of-the-art
cancer center, a heart center
and a 200- to 300-bed hospital,
depending on need and demand.
"This project was a strategic
fit with our vision to create a
first-class healthcare village
to serve Clarkston and
Independence Township. But it
also was a perfect fit with the
Township's growth plan," said
McLaren Health Care president
and CEO Philip Incarnati.
"Healthcare is one of the
primary growth industries in the
state, and the nation. We're
proud to lead the way in
creating
up to 4,000 new high-paying jobs
that will help build the futures
of countless Michigan families,
in a wonderful community such as
Clarkston."
The
project brings a $600 million,
environmentally friendly
development to Clarkston, and
will create an estimated 3,000
to 4,000 new, high-paying jobs.
About 55 percent of those jobs
will be created by the main
hospital, while 30 percent will
be attributed to ancillary
medical buildings and 15 percent
will be created by the retail
portion of the healthcare
village.
Every 15 new jobs created by the
Village will result in $3
million in economic impact to
the area in the form of wages,
state and local taxes. According
to Oakland County and Federal
Reserve Board figures, with the
addition of the multiplier
effect of these dollars moving
through the local economy, the
healthcare village will generate
$600 million to $800 million in
annual economic impact.
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 seven 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.
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.
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.