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Main Line Health outlines phased hospital concept for College Hill/Arcola site in Upper Providence
Summary
Main Line Health presented a three‑phase concept for a hospital campus on a ~42‑acre site near College Hill and Arcola Roads: Phase 1 sketches a ~270,000 sq ft, five‑story hospital with ER and ambulance access; future phases would expand medical office space and parking. Officials said zoning and traffic studies remain to be completed and timeline is preliminary.
Main Line Health representatives told the Board of Supervisors on June 15 that they are exploring a phased hospital campus on a roughly 42‑acre tract at College Hill and Arcola Roads.
Presenters described a flexible three‑phase concept meant to be staged over time. Phase 1 is conceptualized as about 270,000 square feet (five stories plus a walk‑out basement at grade changes) with an ambulance drop‑off and emergency room; future phases could grow the hospital footprint to roughly 500,000 square feet and add medical office buildings (roughly 80,000 and 60,000 square feet in subsequent phases) and parking garages. Main Line representatives said an initial hospital building could approximate 100 beds, depending on final footprint and staffing calculations.
The team emphasized early outreach and said the project would rely on necessary zoning text or map amendments (they intend to use an institutional overlay and request adjustments to push development toward Arcola Road), traffic analysis, and standard permitting. Access proposals include a primary full‑movement connection at the signalized Arcola intersection adjacent to the Providence Town Center and a gated Mennonite Road access for emergency use only. Presenters also discussed buffering, landscaping and stormwater approaches; they said wetlands, steep slopes and flood‑plain areas on the site would be preserved where practicable.
Board members asked about fire/rescue implications (ladder‑truck height and staffing), EMS impacts, traffic and potential timelines. Main Line said designs and traffic studies are being prepared and that the earliest planning commission review would likely be in the fall; formal zoning hearings would follow once traffic and design materials are complete.
Next steps: applicant to complete traffic studies and detailed plans, then pursue zoning‑text/map amendments, conditional‑use review and public hearings in the coming months; staff indicated a likely planning‑commission schedule beginning in September or October.
