Advocate Aurora Health’s planned medical center and medical office building in Mount Pleasant received rezoning approval this week from the village board as the health system moves forward with its expansion plans in Racine County.
Advocate Aurora plans to begin construction this summer on the $228 million project, which includes building a 198,000-square-foot medical center and 98,000-square-foot medical office building on the north side of Highway 20, at the cross streets of Northeast Frontage Road and Washington Avenue.
In addition to building at the high-growth I-94/Highway 20 corridor, Advocate Aurora is planning to build a $13 million primary care and urgent care clinic at the southwest intersection of Spring Street and Sunnyslope Drive in Mount Pleasant.
Also in the works is another Advocate Aurora clinic in Racine County, a project that the health system is not yet ready to announce, a spokeswoman said.
The rezoning approval from the village board on Monday represented a significant step forward for the medical center and office building project.
“We are enthusiastic about making this $228 million investment and being a strong community partner,” said Lisa Just, president of Advocate Aurora Health’s Racine Kenosha Lake patient service area.
The medical center will include 60 medical surgical and intensive care beds, four observation beds, five operating rooms and two procedure rooms. It will offer inpatient care, surgical services, an emergency department with intended level three trauma services, as well as other ancillary services, including rehabilitation, imaging, laboratory and pharmacy.
The medical office building will house about 24 specialty providers, sports medicine, rehabilitation services and a conference center.
The buildings are expected to open in early 2022.
The health system expects the project to create 342 jobs, including 220 clinicians and providers and 122 support staff during its first year of operation, according to village board documents. By year five, the total number of employees will grow to nearly 540, and, by year 10, to about 590.
“We are pleased that Advocate Aurora is making this significant investment in our growing community,” said David DeGroot, president of the Mount Pleasant village board. “We look forward to having expanded access to cost-effective, high-quality care available to our residents.”
Meanwhile, Ascension Wisconsin recently broke ground on a new $42 million health center, which is being built northeast of Highway 20 (Washington Avenue) and Renaissance Boulevard in Mount Pleasant, just miles from Advocate Aurora’s planned development.
Ascension’s new two-story, 72,000-square-foot medical center is the first of the health system’s planned investments totaling $100 million in the region over the next few years.
