Key barrier to new Aurora hospital removed

Oconomowoc uses rare measure to rezone Summit land for project

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, November 1, 2006

Oconomowoc - The key piece of a legal settlement that paves the way for a new hospital in western Waukesha County and gets the city off the hook for a potential $59 million in damages was approved Tuesday night when aldermen rezoned the hospital's proposed construction site in neighboring Summit.

Using a rarely invoked authority to decide the zoning of land within a three-mile area beyond city borders, aldermen unanimously approved the rezoning of land at the southeast corner of I-94 and Highway 67 in Pabst Farms, where Aurora Health Care plans to build a $166 million, 88-bed hospital.

Tuesday's council action also sets the stage for construction in the city of a 110-acre upscale shopping mall at the northeast corner of I-94 and Highway 67 in Pabst Farms - a proposal that city officials have enthusiastically welcomed.

Mayor Maury Sullivan called the zoning approval "a satisfying first step" in the process of fully implementing the legal settlement.

"It's a significant first step," he said.

Approval of the zoning ordinance is the centerpiece of an agreement signed in August that settled a 5-year-old lawsuit filed by Aurora against the city after the Common Council rezoned Aurora's initial hospital site in the city so that a hospital could not be built there.

The site is where the city is now considering plans for a large shopping mall.

In the lawsuit, Aurora had sought $59 million in damages from the city for economic losses the health care provider claimed it had suffered because of the delay in building its planned new hospital.

The zoning ordinance adopted Tuesday for the area, known as the Summit triangle, bounded by I-94, Highway 67 and Waukesha County Highway DR, designates the 43-acre hospital site for institutional use and the rest of the land for business uses. Pabst Farms developers have said they envision the triangle as a health and wellness campus, with the hospital surrounded by medical offices, clinics and other health-related development.

Aurora spokesman Jeff Squire said Tuesday night that plans for the new hospital in Summit, where Aurora turned its sights after being rebuffed by Oconomowoc, are being revised and updated before being presented to the town Plan Commission.

He said construction at the site could begin as early as spring.

Approval of the zoning ordinance now allows Aurora to release its claim on its first proposed building site and makes that site available to become part of the 1 million-square-foot shopping mall proposed by General Growth Properties Inc., the second largest developer of shopping malls in the nation.

Mayor Maury Sullivan said officials from General Growth are scheduled to make a presentation to the city's Plan Commission on Nov. 8 to discuss their overall concept for the mall, which is expected to feature upscale shops, restaurants and possibly a multi-screen cinema.

The agreement that settled the Aurora lawsuit, signed by the city, Summit, Pabst Farms and Aurora officials, called for the zoning ordinance to be adopted by the end of October.

Expediting the rezoning was intended to fit General Growth's timeline to acquire rights to the land and to include the proposed Oconomowoc mall in its 2007 budget, Sullivan has said.