St. Francis proposes 3,400-space parking garage; neighbors raise noise, drainage and screening concerns

Saint Francis Health System representatives presented plans for a multi-level replacement and expansion of the hospital’s employee parking structure at 6161 South Yale Avenue, telling the City of Tulsa Board of Adjustment that the project would replace functionally obsolete facilities and add roughly 3,400 stalls to serve staff and future growth. Neighbors who live near the southeast edge of the site urged the hospital and board for clearer drainage data, stronger noise and light mitigation, and binding agreements to screen or compensate the most-affected households.

The applicant, represented by attorney Lou Reynolds and hospital construction executives, described a cast-in-place, post-tension parking structure to be built in phases: demolish the oldest portions, construct new levels (three subterranean levels in part of the site), then remove and rebuild remaining wings. “This parking garage should let us [grow] for well past 30 to 50 years,” Reynolds said, adding the hospital relies on an adjacent central plant for services and cannot move that infrastructure.

Neighborhood…