Proposal to replace Citrus Heights’ civic center with medical building draws fire from residents who cherish Fountain …

A proposal to demolish Citrus Heights civic center complex to make way for a medical office building is touted by city officials as a good business deal that would help fund a new City Hall building better suited to the needs of employees and the community.

But the project has drawn fire from some residents who say it would destroy the vestiges of Fountain Square, a cherished venue with a prize-winning rose garden. They also are wary of plans for relocating and funding construction of a new city hall.

There are large gaps in information, and nobody seems to want to step up to fill in the gaps, said Susan Howell, who lives in Binet Estates, a neighborhood west of the civic center. An informational meeting the city held in August, she said, raised more questions than it answered.

The city last summer announced that Panattoni Development Co. had submitted a plan for a three-story, 66,465-square-foot building at Greenback Lane and Fountain Square Drive on property that is part of Citrus Heights civic center. To make way for the project, all buildings on the civic center campus except the Police Department building would be torn down. The initial proposal called for constructing a new, two-story city hall in Fountain Square, north of the current buildings.

But after hearing from residents during the August meeting that they didnt want two large office buildings on the site, City Manager Henry Tingle said staff members decided to pursue an alternate location for the city hall and proceed with the proposal for only the medical office building on the Fountain Square property.

We can only do this once, Tingle said. Looking at an alternate location for city hall gives us an opportunity to be more creative and provide more amenities.

The city has scheduled another informational meeting for 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Citrus Heights Community Center, 6300 Fountain Square Drive, to present the latest proposal. Notices of the meeting were mailed to property owners within 1,000 feet of the Fountain Square site, exceeding the 500-foot requirement for a development project, city officials said. But project opponents argue that notices should have been sent to all Citrus Heights residents, because demolishing the current civic center and constructing a new city hall has ramifications for all the citys taxpayers.

Becky Furtado, communications director for Dignity Health, said the proposed medical building would house 50 new health care providers with the Mercy Medical Group as well as 120 support staff. These would be new providers, not transfers from other sites, and would be in addition to the approximately 50 providers housed in facilities on Coyle Avenue in Carmichael, near Mercy San Juan Medical Center. The new facility would help meet the growing demand for medical services expected to accompany implementation of the Affordable Care Act, and would serve Citrus Heights and Dignity Healths northern Sacramento market.

The Fountain Square site is an ideal location because of its proximity to Mercy San Juan Medical Center, convenient access off a major arterial Greenback Lane and available parking, Furtado said. If the project is approved, Dignity Health plans to open the facility by the end of 2015.

The medical facility, Tingle said, would help diversify Citrus Heights economic base, bring higher-end jobs to the community and provide medical services at a convenient location for residents. Constructing the facility on city-owned property also would fund an estimated 50 percent to 60 percent of the cost of building a new city hall, he said.

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Proposal to replace Citrus Heights’ civic center with medical building draws fire from residents who cherish Fountain ...