Prisma Health proposes 100,000‑sq‑ft ambulatory building as council considers rezoning near hospital campus

Andrew Bowles, the city planner, presented Ordinance 15‑2025 (docket RZ25‑06), a rezoning request for six parcels totaling 48.8 acres bounded by South Buncombe Road, West Road and South Main Street. The existing zoning comprises five parcels zoned Commercial General and one parcel zoned Office Professional; the request is to rezone all parcels to Regional Center. Staff and the planning commission recommended approval.

Bowles displayed the zoning map and the city’s future land‑use map, noting the site is adjacent to Prisma Health’s existing hospital campus. He described the proposed district standards as allowing reduced setbacks and increased building heights compared with the current districts; street‑tree and sidewalk requirements would apply along frontages.

Bridal Coker, who identified herself as lead of facilities and real estate for Prisma Health, said the project is phased and that the first planned phase is a roughly 100,000‑square‑foot ambulatory medical office building intended for imaging, lab services, GI/endoscopy and physician clinics. “The first project is gonna be a medical office building roughly a 100,000 square feet. It’ll be ambulatory in nature,” Coker said, and added the project’s target completion date is 2027.

Coker said the first phase would not be inpatient and that it would not affect the existing community garden in that initial phase; she described the remainder of development as conceptual and subject to later phases and site‑development plans. Council members expressed appreciation for expanded local diagnostic and imaging services and noted Prisma’s long relationship with the community.

Council received the first reading and voted to move the item forward to the planning commission/public hearing process as required for ordinance adoption.