Plans have been announced for the creation on a modern medical complex that will go up within an existing health care center just to the north of downtown Flagstaff.
The project belongs to the big Northern Arizona Healthcare system and will house a 27,600-square-foot outpatient surgery center. The new facility will also include an ambulatory center, half a dozen operating rooms, and two pain procedure rooms.
Up to 14,800 square feet of the complex will be given over to a neurology and foot orthopedic center, with another 4,700 square feet comprising a hyperbaric and foot wound center.
The project is essentially a facility repurposing, with NAH remodeling a portion of the 22-year-old, two-story Summit Center at 1485 N. Turquoise Drive.
The project comes just five months after Flagstaff voters overwhelmingly rejected a city council-approved rezoning of a site allowing NAH to build an $800 million hospital complex.
That earlier proposal called for building near the Fort Tuthill County Park, some 6 miles to the southwest of downtown Flagstaff.
Opponents of the planned characterized the Flagstaff City Council’s rezoning decision as rushed and lacking in transparency. The vote essentially disapproved of the council’s actions.
In the wake of that ballot, NAH officials, who had been working on the complex proposal for at least two years, promised to be back with a different idea for a different kind of facility.
In a public statement, NAH chief executive officer Dave Cheney remarked: “We have heard our community’s concerns about keeping some healthcare services in a central location within Flagstaff.”
The project is currently in the design stage with hopes that actual construction can begin later this year. A rough completion date has been announced for January of 2026.
By Garry Boulard
