Sylvania council approves ProMedica plan

Revised master plan unanimously approved

Sylvania Flower Hospital.

Corrected version: Number of beds in the facility has been changed.

Sylvania City Council unanimously approved on Monday a revised master plan of ProMedica’s Flower Hospital campus that shows the future nursing and rehabilitation center.

The approval essentially gave the go-ahead for construction of the 64,000 square foot nursing center, a joint project with HCR ManorCare. Officials plan to break ground in April, and expect construction to take between 12 and 15 months. 

HCR ManorCare has built similar nursing facilities in New Jersey and Michigan. The Sylvania facility, which will be designed with a home atmosphere for patients to recover, will have 120 beds, a gym, flat screen TVs, common areas for socializing, a barbershop, and beauty shop. Skilled nurses would be on call 24 hours a day. The aim is to provide patients a home-setting where they can heal and regain their strength, eventually returning to their own home, project officials have said.

The two-story building has an estimated cost between $13 million and $15 million, and will be located on the northwestern corner of the campus on Harroun Road. It will replace the Lake Park rehabilitation facility, which is planned to operate through the construction period, officials said.

Representatives from both companies were present at the meeting as well as at a public hearing beforehand where residents spoke about their desire to see move forward a proposed extension of the Sylvania River Trail, a bike and walking path that is planned to snake through hospital grounds.

The issue of the trail came up when the revised master plans were submitted in September without any markings for the future path. Officials then submitted a plan with markings on the edge of the border of the campus, showing trail entrances, but no determined path.

Officials presented the hospital’s plans for the nursing center to a room packed with residents, and informed council and those in attendance that Flower Hospital is committed to the River Trail project and to donating land to it, and has met with city officials to determine a suitable route for each party.

The path of the trail extension was undetermined because one route desired by the city placed it close to the hospice facility, which ProMedica officials said could encroach on the privacy of cancer patients. The city was cautious to avoid building on the floodplains, which could increase the project cost. 

After the presentation, residents expressed their pleasure in hearing the two parties are moving on the project.

Sylvania Resident Michelle Atkinson, a cycling proponent, organized a group to attend the meeting by creating an awareness of the issue on Facebook.

“I am satisfied … I would still like to have a concrete plan,” she said.

Alan Sattler, Flower's president said the hospital and the city have three trail options on the table; one alternative has the trail looping south around campus.

“We will work together to have the a location for the trail finalized within 90 days,” he said.

City Service director Kevin Aller said the other two routes would be on the northern end of the campus and go through the floodplain, tacking on about $1 million to the $1.2 million construction cost for the second phase, since it would need to be an elevated walkway. He said, however, that the extra cost could be paid for through grants.

The first phase of the path routes through Harroun Park.

Contact Natalie Trusso Cafarello at: 419-206-0356, or ntrusso@theblade.com, or on Twitter @natalietrusso.