POTSDAM — Canton-Potsdam Hospital aired its plans for expansion before a group of neighbors Thursday night.
Residents' top concern was protecting their neighborhood, while Chief Executive Officer David B. Acker made his case for creating a village health care zone.
"What you're talking about, in essence, is destroying Waverly Street. I invite you to come down on Halloween and see what it's like," said Charlotte Landon of 52 Waverly St., whose house would face a parking lot under the proposed plan.
She and other residents looked at a satellite image of the hospital and surrounding homes. Properties that Canton-Potsdam already has bought or is in the process of buying were highlighted. The proposed health care zone outlined it all, along with about 20 other houses that are still privately owned.
"Our only goal is to try to establish enough boundaries so as the hospital goes down the road, we know there's enough room to expand," Mr. Acker said. "I should say a health care zone doesn't mean the hospital owns each and every square inch."
The hospital's top two priorities for expansion are adding parking and a $17 million wing where an ambulance bay is now to house an expanded emergency department and single-occupancy medical-surgical rooms. Both of those projects needed to be undertaken "yesterday," the CEO said.
Right now, Canton-Potsdam is considering razing houses it owns on the corners of Cottage and Leroy and Cottage and Waverly streets to pave parking lots. Adding the 139 spaces the hospital needs will cost about $700,000.
"When we acquire nice housing, we can turn it into housing for health care workers," Mr. Acker said. "Some residences are well-kept. But some residences that are not so well-kept lend themselves to being demolished."
The inpatient/emergency room addition would consist of two 18,000-square-foot floors, and could be topped with another two or three stories in the future, Mr. Acker said.
Down the road, a $5.8 million cancer treatment center as well as a $7.5 million medical office building also are needed.
The hospital's Potsdam campus is 10 acres. The health care zone proposal being floated before village residents is about 18 acres, and includes an outer buffer zone with stricter regulations to help protect neighborhood character.
"I don't think Canton-Potsdam Hospital is to the point where it can present a hard and fast proposal," village Planning and Development Director Frederick J. Hanss said. "The village is very concerned about the depth of its tax base, and it's also very interested in what all the neighbors think. Their interests need to be taken into consideration."
Mr. Acker said it is his goal not to detract from the village's tax base by keeping some properties on the rolls. He added that the hospital could partner with a developer to build the much-needed medical office building, which as a large private enterprise could pay more in village taxes than "a whole block combined."