OXNARD : Hospital’s Neighbors Oppose Townhouses

Neighbors of St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard criticized a proposal Tuesday to raze the old hospital buildings to make way for townhouses for people age 55 and older.

The neighbors said they would rather see the city preserve the hospital or build single-family houses in its place when it moves its staff, patients and operations to a new building at Rose Avenue and Gonzalez Road in September.

Developers hired by the city showed the City Council blueprints of a proposed group of 180 one- to two-story townhouses that would cost $137,000 to $150,000 each. The buildings would be designed to match the houses around them, said Jack Stewart, a spokesman for the developer, the Weissman Group of Northridge.

It would cost more--$125 to $150 per square foot--to renovate the old buildings into housing than to level them and build new housing, Stewart said.

“I’m dead-set against destroying such a lovely building,” neighbor Gertrude Cash said of the main structure at St. John’s.

Several council members said they hoped that the townhouses would blend with the neighborhood around them.

“I would like to see something that would be like an extension of F Street and Deodar (Avenue),” Councilman Mike Plisky said.

Stewart said the developers must secure an amendment to the Oxnard General Plan, a conditional use permit and a zoning change before they can build the townhouse project.