San Carlos site chosen for new hospital San Carlos site chosen for new hospital (May 26, 2004)

By Renee Batti
Almanac News Editor

Although a few other key details of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation's plan to build a medical center in south San Mateo County are still unknown, the foundation last week finally announced where it intends to build the complex: in San Carlos.

The announcement was made, with much fanfare, at the 18.5-acre site PAMF has secured to build a 110-bed hospital and other medical facilities; that site, now occupied by the Eimac division of the high-tech firm Communications & Power Industries, is at 301 Industrial Road, north of the Holly Street/U.S. 101interchange.

PAMF officials must now plod through a series of processes to prepare the site for use by a hospital, and persuade the city that benefits to be had from putting the medical complex there should override concerns over traffic, toxic contamination, and the site's nearness to houses. The foundation filed its project application with San Carlos in December, according to Cecilia Montalvo, PAMF's vice president of strategic planning and business development.

Neal Martin, San Carlos' planning consultant in charge of the project, said he is waiting for PAMF officials to provide a summary and an analysis of toxics on the site. Until they do, he said, he won't know how big a problem toxic contamination will be.

CPI/Eimac designs and manufactures high-tech devices for broadcast, communications, radar, industrial heating, science and medical applications.

During a press conference last week, PAMF president Dr. David Druker acknowledged toxics will have to be removed from the site, but added that "virtually every site in the Bay Area has some level of contamination."

The San Carlos site, he said, "is relatively clean ... and (will be) easily cleaned up."

Ms. Montalvo estimated a clean-up period of 12 to 18 months.

If the hospital is built, it will be one of three planned renovated or newly constructed medical centers in the South County. Sequoia Hospital plans to rebuild its facilities at its current Redwood City location at Whipple Avenue and Alameda de las Pulgas, and Kaiser is planning to nearly triple the size of its facilities on Veterans Boulevard, also in Redwood City.

The northward move of PAMF into the county has caused concern among public officials and the medical community, and questions have been raised about the competition for doctors, nurses and other medical professionals that is sure to worsen with an added facility in the area.

PAMF chose the San Carlos site over a 16-acre parcel it had an option on in Redwood City. Although the arduous permit process to build in San Carlos has only begun, PAMF officials appear confident that they will win city approval. Dr. Druker said at the May 18 press conference that PAMF was terminating the Redwood City site option that day.

The medical center's cost is estimated at $300 million, and construction could begin as early as 2007, Ms. Montalvo said. Estimated year of completion is 2009 or 2010, according to PAMF officials.

The foundation, based on El Camino Real in Palo Alto, plans to pay for the facility with tax-exempt bonds, revenues from services and private donations.

Ms. Montalvo said that the foundation will pay all costs of city services required to build and operate a hospital at that location. "No tax revenues will be used; we will pay our own way," she said.

Mr. Martin, the city's planning consultant, said traffic "is a very big issue" with the city and residents. PAMF has proposed some traffic mitigation measures, such as modifying intersections, and the city will do an analysis of the proposals, he said.

Other concerns are noise that will affect nearby residents, and the mass and five-story height of the three proposed interconnected buildings. As proposed, the buildings will total about 480,325 square feet of floor space.

The city is in the process of preparing the required environmental impact report, Mr. Martin said. When that is completed -- probably no sooner than early 2005, Mr. Martin said -- public hearings on the project will begin.

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