IU Health North Hospital has received approval from the Carmel Plan Commission to construct a two-story cancer center that will be built southwest of the existing building.
The new 88,000-square-foot cancer center at 11700 N. Meridian St. is planned to offer radiation oncology areas, infusion rooms for chemotherapy patients, space for IU School of Medicine research and cancer support programs. A groundbreaking is expected in the fall.
The site of the future center is currently a parking lot, and 280 parking spaces are expected to be removed to make room for the building. Only 34 spaces will be added, but the hospital’s campus will still have hundreds more parking spaces than required with the construction of a new 532-space lot north of the existing lot.
Zoning laws require the building to be at least three stories tall, but the petitioner asked for an exception to build the structure two stories high with the option of adding three additional stories in the future. The building will meet the minimum height requirement of 38 feet with its two stories.
Tim Ochs, an attorney representing the petitioner, told commissioners in April that medical building regulations state that the hospital cannot build empty floors.
“We cannot build space that we’re not going to use,” he said. “It all has to be genuinely occupied.”
The commission’s commercial committee unanimously approved the site plan and design approval for the project May 1.
