FULLERTON : City OKs Expansion of Medical Building

The City Council approved plans this week to allow an expanded medical office building across the street from St. Jude Hospital & Rehabilitation Center.

Several doctors spoke in favor of allowing a developer to replace the current 31,500-square-foot office building with a three-story building more than twice its size on the southeast corner of Harbor Boulevard and Valencia Mesa Drive in Fullerton. Doctors said they have outgrown the current building and need more office space near the hospital.

Councilwoman Molly McClanahan voted against the project, saying she did not like the idea of such a large building on that corner. She asked council members to scale down the proposed 72,000-square-foot building to 60,000 square feet, but was outvoted 4 to 1.

Besides the larger building, the project also includes a four-level parking structure with 355 spaces.

Initially, the developer and co-owner of the building, McBride Development Co. of Brea, had asked the city to allow a 109,000-square-foot building on the corner. But the Planning Commission and council rejected those plans last year and asked the company to come back with plans for a smaller building.

As part of Tuesday’s approval, McBride Development must pay for improvements at the nearby intersection of Harbor and Bastanchury Road to ease the impact of more cars traveling to the building.

Construction for the expanded office building probably will begin this fall, said James G. McGrade, vice president of the developer.