Greenwich P&Z rejects hospital’s proposed cancer center

The Greenwich Planning & Zoning Commission has rejected a proposal by Greenwich Hospital to open a cancer treatment center in the town.

The 54,865-square-foot Smilow Cancer Center was proposed to be built on eight parcels of land acquired by the hospital at Lafayette Place and Lake Avenue. The parcels housed apartments and small commercial properties.

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 Greenwich Free Press report, Diane Kelly, the hospital”™s CEO, expressed frustration at the rejection of the proposl.

“I do understand nobody objects to providing the best possible cancer care,” she said. “What I”™m hearing is the objection to the location. I understand that. We worked really hard to make the location more palatable so we can coexist.”