Queen Creek’s health care infrastructure is growing

Two recent moves are highlighting the future of Queen Creek’s growing health care infrastructure.

Banner Ironwood Medical Center has unveiled plans to expand by adding emergency cardiac services and a local family is developing a two-story, 20,000-square-foot medical office building in the Downtown Core.

The expansion at Banner Ironwood will add approximately 30,000 more square feet to the north side of the hospital, Banner Ironwood CEO Brian Kellar told the Queen Creek Town Council on July 16.

The project will increase the emergency department by 10,000 square feet, adding 34 beds and bringing the total number of beds to 49. The new space will also increase the emergency department’s waiting room by another 1,000 square feet. The growth will require the hospital to add 80 parking spaces to the emergency department visitor and patient parking lot.

“What I’m probably the most excited about is a cardiac catheterization lab,” Kellar said. “This will introduce emergency and routine cardiac services to be provided in our community. You’ll no longer have to be transported or transport yourself outside of our community for routine and emergency cardiac services.”

The addition will create shell space for a second lab, an additional, multiple operation-room suite, and shelling for a second medical imaging technology suite as needed, Kellar said.

“This is going to require hiring dozens of new and additional caregivers, support service and physician jobs for our Queen Creek location,” he added.

Work on the expansion will begin in around six months starting with architects, followed by permitting with the town. Kellar said the addition will probably be completed in early 2027.

Kellar said he wanted to introduce the project to the council before it made its way through planning and zoning.

Queen Creek Mayor Julia Wheatley welcomed the news of Banner Ironwood’s expected growth.

“The theme is you’re growing,” Wheatley said. “That’s a likely story here in Queen Creek and it’s just exceptional to be able to provide those additional services to our community, as well as the employment opportunities right here in Queen Creek.”

The Matheson
On Aug. 6, the council approved a rezoning request and granted site plan approval for the medical office building being developed in the Downtown Core.

The project, called The Matheson, will be on a 2-acre lot at the southeast corner of Ocotillo and Ellsworth Loop roads on a vacant lot. The lot has been rezoned from general commercial to Downtown Core.

The site and two other properties south of it were intended to be located within the Downtown Core zoning boundary. However, the properties’ previous owner opted to keep the zoning as general commercial, according to a staff report.

“In the middle of our downtown was this doughnut hole and not only because it was vacant and dirt, but it was the parcel that did not rezone to the Downtown Core with overlay,” Wheatley said. “There’s any number of things that could have developed there, including drive-thrus, things like that. So, bringing this forward, rezoning to the downtown with the downtown core with overlay is exactly what our vision of our downtown is.”

The rezoning request came with a planned-area development overlay that allows for flexibility in development standards. The overlay is required as developers asked for one major exemption to Downtown Core zoning standards.

Office use in the Downtown Core is allowed but limited to a maximum of 3,000 square feet.

“Though the 3,000-square-foot size limit is intended to discourage large medical office uses within the DC zoning district, the project site location lends itself to provide for a larger medical office use while still providing a site design that encourages and supports a downtown setting as well as promoting pedestrian scale,” according to a staff report.

The medical building is being developed by the Matheson family of Queen Creek. Alex Matheson is a dentist and member of the Queen Creek Planning & Zoning Commission.

“There’s nothing that makes my heart sing more than when a local business feels the need to grow and they do it right here in our community,” Council Member Robin Benning said. “To go from your Queen Creek Medical Office Park to your own building, that just speaks volumes of your commitment to community.”

The Queen Creek Planning & Zoning Commission approved a recommendation for the site plan and rezoning on July 23. The motion passed 5-0. Chair David Gillette was not present, and Matheson recused himself due to a conflict of interest.

The council also praised the design of the building which will blend mid-century modern with the desert landscape.

The project will provide pedestrian connectivity through sidewalks along Ellsworth Loop and Ocotillo roads. It will be adjacent to Ocotillo Road with the main entrance on the building’s south side facing its parking lot.

The second floor will include an outdoor deck on the north and south sides, with the southwest corner deck covered. The covered deck will also provide shade to the area below on the first floor.

Annexation
A recent request by another developer could bring even more medical offices to the town.

Frank West Capital LLC is requesting the council annex two vacant parcels near the southwest corner of San Tan Boulevard and Ellsworth Road in order to create four medical and office buildings on 5 acres of Maricopa County land.

On Aug. 6, the council held the first of two required public hearings needed for land annexation. No date has been set for the second required public hearing, but it is expected to take place sometime this fall.

In August 2024, Frank West Capital submitted an annexation application for the proposed site, along with a site plan and request to rezone the property from rural to light commercial to develop four medical office and office buildings totaling about 30,644 square feet if the annexation is approved.

“Each building will provide about 7,661 (square feet) for a total of 30,644 (square feet). The buildings consist of 60% medical offices and 40% general offices … there are 146 parking spaces provided including 16 ADA parking spaces, which exceeds the required amount of parking by 35 spaces. The primary access to the site is along Ellsworth Road with an additional access on San Tan Boulevard,” according to the project narrative.

The developer stated in the report that the project would not have any 24-hour businesses or uses that require conditional-use permits, as well as no drive-thrus unless permitted under an approved planned area development.

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