Planning Board Hears Proposals for Germantown Hospital Thursday

Plans for what could be Germantown’s first new hospital in 30 years will be presented to Montgomery County Planning Board during a hearing Thursday.

Holy Cross Hospital’s proposal to build a 93-bed hospital southern portion of Montgomery College's Germantown Campus is on the planning board agenda, which also covers the hospital’s forest conservation plan, site and preliminary plans, in addition to plans to extend Observation Drive — to become a four-lane public road, under the proposal — from Middlebrook Road to Germantown Road, according to records submitted to the planning board.

Demand for first new hospital Upcounty has been fueled by population growth in the northern part of Montgomery County, which hasn’t had a new facility built in three decades, county officials have said. But the debate continues as to whether Upcounty residents would be better served by a hospital closer to Clarksburg.

Holy Cross has already cleared a few hurdles.

In January, the Maryland Healthcare Commission voted unanimously (9-0) to approve Holy Cross’s proposal for a $202 million hospital in Germantown, over ShadyGrove Adventist’s $177 million 86-bed facility in Clarksburg.

In June, The Maryland State Board of Public Works unanimously approved a $7.95 million, 90-year lease agreement with the hospital.

County Executive Isiah Leggett recently signed an executive order that designated the hospital as a “strategic economic development project,” a designation that directs county departments and agencies to prioritize the project and expedite its approval process.

Planning board spokeswoman Valerie Burton reportedly told the Washington Examiner that the designation wouldn’t factor into the board’s decision process and that the application would still be reviewed “on it’s merits.”

If approved, the hospital would anchor Montgomery College's Science and Technology Park. Pending approval, construction could begin in fall; the hospital would be completed in the first half of 2014, a hospital spokesperson told Patch in June.