Smaller AGH Facility On Route 589 Approved By Planning Commission

Smaller AGH Facility On Route 589 Approved By Planning Commission
Renderings of the proposed AGH medical facility on Route 589 are shown. Submitted Image

SNOW HILL – Atlantic General Hospital has modified plans for a facility on Route 589.

The Worcester County Planning Commission last week approved revisions to the Atlantic General Hospital (AGH) facility proposed for a location on Route 589 near Ocean Pines. Though presented two years ago as a two-story facility, AGH representatives told the commission they now wanted to build a one-story structure.

“Not much has changed and we think it’s a great project,” attorney Hugh Cropper said.

In the spring of 2019, the hospital received site plan approval for a two-story, 99,912-square-foot building. Because needs have been modified in the years since, Cropper said AGH was now proposing a structure that had the same footprint but would only be one story. The 50,349-square-foot building will include pharmacy space as well as medical offices.

“We think it’s a great looking building,” Cropper said. “It’s going to be an asset to AGH.”

Engineer John Salm echoed Cropper’s comments about the building’s location on the site.

“It is in the exact same footprint,” he said. “It didn’t move one bit from when the commission approved it in February 2019. Because there’s less space in the building, there’s less requirement for parking.”

The site plan now includes 257 parking spaces, which Salm said was still above the minimum requirement of 199 spaces. He pointed out that the parking lot would be pervious asphalt.

“So the stormwater system is actually the parking lot,” Salm said.

Kent Doss of Array Architects said the facility had been designed for brand consistency with AGH’s cancer center.

“That’s the material palette we used as a starting point,” he said, adding that variations in brick color were also meant to add to the appearance of the facility.

When asked if there were plans to eventually add a second story to the building, Doss said there were not. He said there was space for an addition on the back of the property if it was needed in the future.

The commission voted unanimously to approve the revised site plan.

About The Author: Charlene Sharpe

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Charlene Sharpe has been with The Dispatch since 2014. A graduate of Stephen Decatur High School and the University of Richmond, she spent seven years with the Delmarva Media Group before joining the team at The Dispatch.