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Council OKs medical center changes
February 12, 2008 | The Daily News
NEWBURYPORT — The City Council last night approved another special permit for the Newburyport Medical Center, but officials also revealed that a firm specializing in developing medical centers in and around Boston has a purchase agreement for the project.
Needham-based Murphy and McManus, which officials recently announced would collaborate on the plan, have a purchase agreement with Tom Jones, the original developer who is a city councilor and lifelong resident of the city. The medical center, where cancer treatment will be provided, is being built on Jones' land off Low Street.
Matt Assia, the project executive for Murphy and McManus, and Jones both said they couldn't discuss the details of the agreement since it is ongoing, including the price the firm will pay the city councilor.
Jones did say they are working out the "fine" details.
Assia and Jones also said Jones would continue on with the project.
Murphy and McManus has developed institutions such as Caritas Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton and the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical centers in Chelsea and Brockton, among many others in the Boston area.
Assia said he didn't know the details of how his firm got involved with the development but said they are "extremely pleased to be involved."
"The hospital definitely has a great reputation, and that is one of the reasons we were drawn to the project," he said. "It is just a great opportunity for us."
As part of Murphy and McManus joining the development effort, it changed the plans, which is why the firm needed a council-approved special permit. The council approved the original plans last May.
Those changes include decreasing the size of the building from 50,000 square feet to about 43,000. The number of parking spaces will be increased from 114 to 130, there will be more spaces for handicapped drivers and the parking lot will be reconfigured to make traffic flow easier.
The center will be built in one phase, instead of the two phases previously planned.
Jones said after going over the building plans, Murphy and McManus developed a plan to make the site work better and provide more parking for clients. Jones also said concerns raised by some abutters are addressed in the new proposal.
"In my opinion, they are the premier medical developer in the state," Jones said in a previous interview. "On their client list are the top medical providers in the commonwealth."
Last night, Jones said the time line for construction will go on as before, commencing in the spring. He said the goal is to have the cancer treatment center serving patients by the end of the year.
"That is the most important part of all this," he said.
The City Council approved the new special permit with little discussion. No one objected to the plan.
Several people, including the president of Anna Jaques Hospital, Delia O'Connor, and Mayor John Moak, stood to praise the planned medical center and encourage the council to vote in favor.
City Councilor Greg Earls said he liked the "massing" of the previous plans but added that he appreciated that the building was "pulled away" from the closest neighbor.
"I think it is a good step," the Ward 1 councilor said.
The process isn't over, however.
At 7 tonight, the Zoning Board of Appeals will discuss the new changes, and the Planning Board will meet on Feb. 20 regarding the plan, which Jones said will be the most "thorough" examination of the changes.
Both of those entities approved the original plans.
Newburyport's center will provide cancer patients the convenience of a one-stop facility for cancer treatment, which will be the first of its kind in the North of Boston region, officials say. It also means 30 to 40 more jobs coming to Newburyport.
Dr. Walt Kagan, the president of Commonwealth Hematology-Oncology, the largest private practice cancer treatment program in New England, is the anchor tenant of the new building.
The building, its parking lot and an access road will connect to Low Street and also provide another entrance to Anna Jaques Hospital.