Banner Health is putting on the full-court press trying to get support from the Scottsdale City Council for its rezoning request that would open the way forward for the construction of a hospital with heliport as part of controversial $400 million medical campus on 48 acres near the intersection of N. Hayden Road and the Loop 101.
The for-profit health care provider has been sending canvassers door-to-door asking residents to sign a letter requesting city council members approve the rezoning request.
At the same time, it has also requested employees to email the council a form letter asking the city council members to vote yes on the request.
“With Banner Health Center plus already under construction, the full-service hospital is a logical next step,” the form letter says. “We need this comprehensive medical campus with specialists, advanced technology and research partnerships. That’s the kind of forward-thinking infrastructure a city like Scottsdale should have.
“Competition in health care is good for patients. It increases quality and gives us choices about where and how we receive care. I want to be able to choose Banner when I need hospital services. “
Phase one of the campus is a 119,500-square-foot medical office on 15 acres. That is currently under construction and is expected to open in early 2027. The land for that part of the project was already zoned for medical offices so that part of the project only needed approval from the city’s development review board, which it got in a unanimous vote in September 2024.
Phase two is where the rezoning request for the remaining 33 acres comes in. It calls for a 384,000-square-foot, four-story hospital with up to 135 beds. It also calls for a helicopter pad but the hospital will not be a Level 1 trauma center, which tends to get the majority of flights, nor will it be a base center for helicopters. The primary purpose of the helicopter operation would be to fly out patients who need a higher level of care than offered at the hospital.
At full build out, Banner Health officials estimate the medical campus would create approximately 2,500 jobs.
The rezoning case is set to go before the city planning commission Jan. 14. It will then go before the city council for final approval or denial at an undetermined date.
David Liebowitz, a spokesman for Banner Health, said in a text message to the Daily Independent, “It’s very common for applicants and opponents in zoning cases – not just Banner – to solicit feedback and support from the public regarding a project. In this instance, with a high profile project, we felt that was important to go to the public with the facts and ask for their support.”
Not everybody is in love with the project though. Some residents fear it will bring more development, traffic and noise to the area. Also, nonprofit health care provider HonorHealth and the Scottsdale Firefighters Association oppose the new facility, saying it will oversaturate the area with hospital beds and strain an already struggling workforce. They believe Scottsdale is not lacking in any medical services that Banner Health would supply.
“For three years, Banner Health has sought a major zoning change to build an unnecessary hospital in North Scottsdale,” an HonorHealth spokesman said in an email to the Daily Independent. “Their latest efforts show they are still trying to convince local residents to support a project the community has consistently questioned. HonorHealth and the Scottsdale Firefighters Association stand with our neighbors in prioritizing quality care and public safety. Adding another hospital at Hayden and the 101 could disrupt emergency response and fragment care. Our focus remains on delivering coordinated, high-quality healthcare that meets the needs of Scottsdale residents.”
City Councilwoman Maryann McAllen said she has been getting “a ton” of emails on the rezoning request, about half of which are form letters and the other half individually written correspondence. The majority of them support a hospital, she said.
“We want to provide the best service for everybody and depending on who you talk to, they say it brings HonorHealth at risk by bringing in Banner, but it doesn’t put Circle K at risk if you bring in a QT so what’s the difference?” McAllen said.
City Councilwoman Jan Dabauskas said she’s also been getting some form letter emails in support of the project.
“It’s not at a level that I would call overwhelming yet, but there are emails coming in,” she said.
On days when emails do come in, they all seem to hit her inbox in a single minute, she said.
“It’s very obviously an electronic set up,” Dabauskas said.
She said form letters don’t affect her opinion as strongly as individually written emails.
“It’s something you take into consideration but when it’s so obviously something computer generated it doesn’t come across as an organic movement from the residents,” Dabauskas said.
City Councilman Barry Graham, who attributes many of the emails to Banner Health employees, said, “We’ve seen kind of stuff like this before for other projects.”
But he said that’s not a reason to discount the letters.
“A resident puts their name on something, I think that always carries some weight,” Graham said.
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J. Graber
News Editor | Scottsdale
Meet J.
Graber joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in February 2023, starting his career as a staff writer covering the City of Scottsdale and was named news editor of the Scottsdale Independent in 2024.
Community: He serves on the alter guild as well as being an usher at St. Mathews Episcopal Church in Chandler.
Education: He earned his BA in creative writing with a minor in journalism from the University of Arizona. He then earned an MS in Mass Communications from the University of Oregon.
Random Fact: He enjoys reading novels by Russian authors.
Hobbies: Playing classical guitar, reading, fishing, going to the gym, watching sports and spending time with his family.