Greenwich Hospital is making a second attempt at proposing the construction of Smilow Cancer Hospital Care Center after its initial submission was rejected last summer by the Greenwich Planning & Zoning Commission.
The commission turned down the proposed 54,865-square-foot Smilow Cancer Center planned for construction across eight parcels of land acquired by the hospital at Lafayette Place and Lake Avenue. The parcels housed apartments and small commercial properties and many residents had complained that the proposed cancer center would have dramatically altered the character of the neighborhood while increasing traffic problems.
The hospital had been seeking the town”™s approval for the center for nearly two years and scaled back its original 80,000-square-foot proposal to accommodate complaints that the facility would have been too large for its location.
According to a statement issued by the hospital, the new proposal includes “30% percent more green space, is set further back from the road to preserve the look of the neighborhood, has moved parking underground, now accommodates a single entrance and exit to the site, and facilitates greater walkability in the area. With a focus on integration with nature, the Smilow Cancer Hospital Care Center will also feature infusion rooms with direct access to a beautiful healing garden.”
The commission and the Greenwich Architectural Review Committee are scheduled to begin judging the new proposal in April.
“We have a responsibility to evolve as the needs of our community evolve. And today the most acute needs in our community are for cardiovascular and oncology care,” said Diane Kelly, president of Greenwich Hospital. “Since 2018, we”™ve invested significantly to expand cardiac care at Greenwich, and now it”™s time to do the same for oncology. Care should be local when it can be, and this is our opportunity to provide personalized and comprehensive cancer care to patients right here in Greenwich.”
Photo: Greenwich Hospital, courtesy of Noroton / Wikimedia Commons.
