Sutter Health held the first in a series of planned community and stakeholder meetings Monday evening regarding its proposed Emeryville hospital campus.
About 60 community members attended the meeting at the former Chiron/Novartis campus at the corner of Hollis Street and 53rd Street.
About 60 community members turned out for the Monday evening meeting.
Originally scheduled for 60 minutes, the meeting stretched to roughly 90 minutes as residents peppered a panel of Sutter representatives with questions and concerns.
A six-member panel representing various areas of expertise walked attendees — both in person and online — through a presentation while fielding questions throughout the evening.
The revised proposal includes a 780,000-square-foot, 17-story hospital rising approximately 330 feet. Initially proposed as a 200-bed facility, the project has since been expanded to 325 beds.
A slide from Monday’s meeting.
A massing diagram of the hospital.
If constructed as proposed, the hospital would surpass Pacific Park Plaza — currently Emeryville’s tallest building at 318 feet — becoming the tallest structure in the city.
Among the most contentious new details revealed Monday were plans to remove the traffic diverter on Horton Street — popular with bike advocates — and the inclusion of a rooftop helipad.
Sutter Health representatives confirmed their plan to remove the traffic diverter on Horton Street.
Many questions from residents centered on traffic impacts, particularly along 53rd Street where Emeryville’s school and child development center are located, as well as along the Horton Street bike boulevard where vehicles would need to navigate to to access the existing parking garage.
Sutter representatives said recent streetscape improvements along Hollis Street would remain intact. However, they were less definitive when asked wether the recently approved 40th Street Multimodal Project would impact their project.
One nearby resident questioned the cost of hospital parking, expressing concern that high rates could push patients and visitors into already limited neighborhood street parking.
While opposition in the room appeared strong, at least one attendee voiced support for the project.
“We’re not some suburban community anymore,” the resident said, pushing back on assertions that Emeryville was some quaint little town. “We’re an urban city.”
This building at 4595 Horton next to the South Bayfront bridge approach would be demolished as part of Sutter’s plans.
Representatives repeatedly deferred to the forthcoming Environmental Impact Report (EIR) that will include extensive traffic analysis and recommend ways to mitigate impacts, along with additional studies examining environmental concerns, wind effects, and shadow impacts.
Sutter representatives did not provide estimates for helicopter or ambulance traffic volumes, nor did they say whether the hospital would seek a trauma center designation — a move that could further increase helicopter and ambulance activity.
According to Sutter, the project could bring roughly 3,000 jobs to the city, along with hundreds of additional indirect jobs tied to patient activity and hospital operations. Additional economic activity would also be generated during construction of the hospital. However, as a nonprofit, the health system would be exempt from property taxes and would likely generate significantly less business and sales tax revenue than comparable private-sector developments.
If approved, occupancy would begin in 2029 with the construction on the hospital slated to begin in 2029 with completion anticipated in 2033.
The first building slated to be occupied would be this newly constructed building at 5555 Hollis in 2029.
“We don’t have a plan B,” one Sutter representative said when asked whether the organization had identified an alternate site should the proposal fail to move forward.
Sutter representatives are expected to next appear before Emeryville’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) on June 1. The meeting is likely to draw significant scrutiny over the proposed removal of the Horton Street diverter and its potential impact on bicycle safety and neighborhood traffic volumes.
Related
You have Successfully Subscribed!