Jefferson City council approves rezone request for land near hospital

A Jefferson City hospital can now move forward with expansion in a residential area.

Jefferson City council members voted Monday to rezone a portion of land near Capital Region Medical Center.

The hospital filed a request to rezone 0.97 acres with about eight lots along the 1100 Block of Oak Street from Single Family Residential to Office Commercial.

Capital Region has already demolished a row of houses along the west side of the street.

The hospital has plans to put a parking lot on the land to serve the hospital and medical office buildings.

Long-term plans for the area could include future expansion such as medial office buildings and/or support services, according to what the hospital’s director of facilities said in a planning and zoning commission meeting last month.

In 2015, ABC 17 News reported the city demolished three homes a few blocks away from the pending lot. It was to make way for a new interchange that currently sits at Stadium and Monroe and Christy Drive to help with traffic flow around the hospital.

Monday, Carlos Graham, a city councilman and planning and zoning commission liaison, said so far no residents have voiced opposition to the hospital’s growth in the neighborhood.

“I think the parking lot, hopefully, will help with the issues that they do have over in that area with the traffic and things like that,” Graham said. “So I think the parking lot will be a great addition for the area.”

A 2015 study by Capital Region showed areas of the neighborhood were falling into disrepair, possibly harming the whole area. Graham said the houses demolished on Oak Street fell under that category.