Emanuel Hospital representatives recently met with the Eliot Land Use Committee for their annual report.  They are about to embark on a major expansion on the West side of their campus (by Kerby, near I-5).  They will be building a large building on the site with even more parking and a new burn center that would be the first renovation for that center in a long time.  The building looks like a giant wall, but it is not in an area that usually has people walking in it so maybe that is ok.  Members of the committee were not excited about the design of the building, however the improvements to the hospital sound really exciting and it is a huge asset to have a top tier hospital in the area.

We took this opportunity to talk to the new Director of Construction and Real Estate, Ali Sadri.  We talked about how having a wall of parking garages on the residential edge of the campus was not inviting to the community.  I mentioned my personal favorite idea of creating a north/south pedestrian connection through the campus connecting Gantenbein and Flint Avenues through what is now an indoor lobby.

One interesting development was that Ali mentioned that all 3 blocks east of Vancouver were basically a clean slate to him, the office building east of Vancouver is seen as not worth keeping long term by the hospital.  All of that being said, I would guess nothing will be built east of Vancouver for over 10 years, increasing the amount of time that the land has been vacant past the 50 year mark.