Shriners Hospital Moving to the City

debaliviere · PostMay 30, 2006#12006-05-30T13:20+00:00

Sounds good! Having Children's, Cardinal Glennon and Shriners all within a few miles of each other has to be a positive. I wonder if they're being offered part of the Forest Park parcel...

From mayorslay.com:

St. Louis Shriners Hospital, currently located on Lindbergh Boulevard near Frontenac Plaza, is interested in relocating to the BJC Medical Campus in the City of St. Louis. This is not yet a ?done deal? ? but it looks very promising. Doctors who provide services to children at Shriners also serve on the faculty and staff of the Washington University Medical School and BJC and many of them would like to be closer to the med school.

As older readers may recall, the original St. Louis Shriners Hospital for Children opened in 1924 in the area of what is now the BJC campus. In 1963, the old hospital was closed and a new 80-bed Shriners Hospital was opened in St. Louis County ? making it one of several City hospitals that made the move to the suburbs.

A move back to the City would be important for a number of reasons:

The hospital provides excellent comprehensive orthopedic care for children ? at no charge. If Shriners moves back to the City, children in the City who need orthopedic care will have far better access to this opportunity.

The hospital will bring more than 300 jobs to the City, adding to the many thousands of health care jobs already located in this area.

Shriners will reinforce the City?s place as the region?s center for excellence in medical research and medical care. Part of the attraction of a City location for Shriners is the fact that BJC and Washington University consistently rank in the Top 10 medical facilities in the country and that Saint Louis University is on the cutting edge of many medical research initiatives, as is evidenced by their new research building coming out of the ground at Grand and Chouteau. Shriners also performs its own research in metabolic bone disorders, which will add to the scope of research initiatives already underway at BJC and at the Center for Emerging Technologies.

I am very enthusiastic about this possible return of Shriners to the City. They would be great new neighbors. I am keeping my fingers crossed about their final decision.

jmedwick · PostMay 30, 2006#22006-05-30T13:36+00:00

That is great news and it also brings up an interesting point. Many of the larger area hosptials have taken the time to open satelite faclities in areas far from their main campus. BJC has been a leader in this area. If the city, particuarly the CORTEX corridor between BJC and SLU is the medical hub of the region, perhaps some larger county hosptials will open up satelite offices in the city. A St. Luke's Midtown? or St. John's, both of which are running out of room to expand on their current campuses. It's something to think about.

drdrew · PostMay 30, 2006#32006-05-30T20:32+00:00

Amazing, a hospital moving east! I suppose there's a first time for everything.

framer · PostMay 31, 2006#42006-05-31T02:13+00:00

Oh, man! I'm gonna be on pins and needles now waiting for this to happen. Great news! Let's hope it goes through.

threeonefour · PostMay 31, 2006#52006-05-31T02:31+00:00

DrDrew wrote:Amazing, a hospital moving east! I suppose there's a first time for everything.

No kidding! And JMed, I really like your idea about satellite campuses. City locations near the BJC and SLU medical campuses would make great sense IMHO, especially for specialized care.

This would be great news for the city, and I think the hospital and its patients would really benefit from this move.

Hopefully the powers-that-be at Shriners will approve the move!

tbspqr · PostMay 31, 2006#62006-05-31T03:10+00:00

JMedwick wrote:A St. Luke's Midtown? or St. John's, both of which are running out of room to expand on their current campuses.quote]

This maybe true - but all three major west county hospitals <Lukes> are all in the midst of huge expansions. Johns added a huge amount to their campus which is SUPPOSED to serve them for 30 years including cancer center, heart hospital, larger ER etc..., MO Bap is in the midst of major additions (not sure about what) and Lukes is trying to expand across 141 from its current locale.... and none of the cities <Creve> seem to be hindering them much.

I would imagine the land that the shiners hospital sits on is worth a pretty penny, in the heart of Frontenac - right next to Plaza Frontenac. I think the fiscal possibilities of selling their valuable land for massive dough, as well as everything mentioned in here before - makes it a very tempting offer.

jmedwick · PostMay 31, 2006#72006-05-31T14:04+00:00

^ Well true that all of those hospitals are exapnding (though the St. John's addition better hold them for 30 years as I don't see any room left to expand now). However, BJC has been expanding their main campus like crazy and still sees a need in offering care centers out in St. Charles and Chesterfield and I think the same logic can apply with St. Johns and St. Lukes, looking to try and take a bigger share of the local healthcare market. To take a bigger share they would need satelite faclities and CORTEX would be a logical location if they were interested in offering services in the city.

tbspqr · PostJun 01, 2006#82006-06-01T03:23+00:00

One problem I see with satelliting is that you have 75 mediocre hospitals that are all complaining that they can't support the good services. If the finite resources of the region are spread thin - we will loose the world class facilities we have now in favor of a small bit of convenience for people in Wentzville. If they are concentrated - you can have a super massive hospital that does everything to the best possible standard.

drdrew · PostJun 02, 2006#92006-06-02T04:40+00:00

I wonder where they'd put it. There isn't a whole lot of good land right on the BJC campus anymore (that's why they're trying to lease Hudlin Park.) Maybe across from the new nursing school?

jmedwick · PostJun 02, 2006#102006-06-02T13:01+00:00

^ Oh sad, BJC may need to expand further east towards Cortex?

dweebe · PostAug 07, 2006#112006-08-07T22:17+00:00

tbspqr wrote:
JMedwick wrote:A St. Luke's Midtown? or St. John's, both of which are running out of room to expand on their current campuses.quote]

This maybe true - but all three major west county hospitals <Lukes> are all in the midst of huge expansions. Johns added a huge amount to their campus which is SUPPOSED to serve them for 30 years including cancer center, heart hospital, larger ER etc..., MO Bap is in the midst of major additions (not sure about what) and Lukes is trying to expand across 141 from its current locale.... and none of the cities <Creve> seem to be hindering them much.

I would imagine the land that the shiners hospital sits on is worth a pretty penny, in the heart of Frontenac - right next to Plaza Frontenac. I think the fiscal possibilities of selling their valuable land for massive dough, as well as everything mentioned in here before - makes it a very tempting offer.

You could build a lot of McMansions on that land. I'm sure ths Shriners could get big money for that spot.

tbspqr · PostAug 08, 2006#122006-08-08T03:31+00:00

I doubt that area would be filled with McMansions - but probably some sort of up-scale retail development... like the schnidehorst ?spelling? or the new restaurants near Frontenac Plaza.... A large prime piece of real estate on a major road in an already affluent area that is lacking (in some minds) retail options, i see retail as the logical step.

In any case - the important thing - the hospital moving back to the city is awesome, but I can't think of a better place for it to move than near BJC. This will cement the area (even more) as a WORLD class collection of hospitals.

matguy70 · PostAug 10, 2006#132006-08-10T02:09+00:00

This is great news. St. Louis is blessed with 3 excellent Children's Hospitals!

debaliviere · PostJan 03, 2007#142007-01-03T21:51+00:00

The potential Shriners move was mentioned in this week's Business Journal. The article says that Shriners wants to locate somewhere "closer to Children's Hospital" and Wash U. Med School as most of the physicians who practice at Shriners are members of the Wash U. Med School faculty.

Everyone involved has been very tight-lipped about the location, including CORTEX's real estate broker.

southcitygent · PostJan 03, 2007#152007-01-03T22:00+00:00

I had heard from a source in the Shriners that they were looking at a location with "great visibility" from Hwy 40. I have wondered if it was the Forest Park property (pure speculation of course).

debaliviere · PostJan 03, 2007#162007-01-03T22:12+00:00

southcitygent wrote:I had heard from a source in the Shriners that they were looking at a location with "great visibility" from Hwy 40. I have wondered if it was the Forest Park property (pure speculation of course).

I've wondered that myself.

jmedwick · PostJan 04, 2007#172007-01-04T01:51+00:00

^ I have wondered that too, but dismissed it, thinking that the Barnes would want that land for their eventual expasion/ reconstruction of the two main large hospital buildings. You hear rummors ever so often that the Queeny Tower would come down because it is old and antiquated. I figured that the FP lands would be used to build a huge new main hospital building without needing to tear down the current buildings. Then Barnes can move everyone into the new building and tear down/ rehab the existing buildings for whatever else they want.

Either way this is a good rummor and would be a great addition to the City, wherever it is located.

MattnSTL · PostJan 04, 2007#182007-01-04T02:50+00:00

To go along with the rumors, I've heard that land has already been bought by the Shriner's from BJC/WashU. This is from an unconfirmable source, but still some food for thought.

fromthelou · PostJan 04, 2007#192007-01-04T04:28+00:00

I think the hospital is definately planning to move to a new location based on the City of Frontenac 2006 Comprehensive Plan.

On page 11, "PHFC, Planned High Fashion Center (along Lindbergh Blvd.

between Clayton Rd. & Litzinger)" The Shriners Hospital happens to fall within that boundary...very interesting.

On page 27, "The community desires that future commercial development occur primarily within existing commercially zoned and utilized property, such as...the Plaza Frontenac Planned High Fashion Center zoning district."

Also notice the Future Land Use plan map on page 14 where the land under the hospital becomes zoned commercial.

Doesn't look like there will be any McMansions built on that land. Get ready for some new high end retailers for StL.

http://www.cityoffrontenac.org/files/Fr ... 20Plan.pdf

ward17 · PostJan 13, 2007#202007-01-13T01:55+00:00

John O'Shaunessy who grew up in FPSE and who played I used to play sandlot football with in Hudlin park as a kid now leads Shriners in St. Louis and is responsible for bringing it back to the city. The old hospital is across the street from Hudlin park. The new one will not be in the park but close to FPSE.

stlbiggestfan · PostJan 14, 2007#212007-01-14T03:45+00:00

ward17 wrote:

The old hospital is across the street from Hudlin park. The new one will not be in the park but close to FPSE.

So the move is definitely happening? Any timeframe (new construction presumably)?

I'm trying to recall the area. Is there much room between Hudlin Park (tennis courts at BJC, right?) and FPSE?

framer · PostJan 14, 2007#222007-01-14T05:32+00:00

Maybe this will go on the land that was recently cleared just across the overpass, on the south edge of highway 40? Or maybe replace the natural gas storage tanks?

drdrew · PostJan 14, 2007#232007-01-14T15:48+00:00

I've always been curious what's going to happen to the land south of clayton road and west of Euclid. Once the kingshighway interchange is replaced, there will be much more room there to build something. I can't remember whether that area is included in the most recent BJC lease proposal.

My guess for a shriner's location would be directly across 40 from the gasometer, in what is now a big WashU parking lot.

Alex Ihnen · PostJan 15, 2007#242007-01-15T03:40+00:00

The hospital's not going south of 40 - the gas tank and surrounding area will be residential. South of Clayton and west of Euclid will be parkland - at least this was to be part of the trade-off for the Hudlin Park lease. Amenities were to be moved south of Clayton.

^I would agree that Shriners would go against 40 on the north side, between Taylor and Newstead. Part of the area north of Clayton within the same block may be large enough as well.

tubesocks · PostJan 16, 2007#252007-01-16T21:56+00:00

Arch City wrote:St. Louis Shriners Hospital is among the dinkiest looking Shriners hospitals out of the bunch. It's definitely time for an upgrade.

I wouldn't judge a hospital by its outward appearance. The building may be dated, but the activity at the St. Louis hospital outpaces all the other Shriners hospitals in the system except Mexico City.