TMC granted zoning rights to start expansion

The Tucson Medical Center plans to expand its hospital on Grant and Craycroft Roads in Tucson, Ariz. got a huge boost from the Tucson City Council's New zoning approval last week.

Currently, the TMC is a maze of hallways and scattered buildings. Nurses have to be carted from building to building and patients experience more time traveling than multi-story medical facilities.

The planned area development for the property will revamp the area into a modern and more efficient medical facility.

"After nearly four years of work, we have successfully passed a major initial hurdle in getting the new Tucson Medical Center built for the community," said the TMC in response to the rezoning approval.

Some neighbors are still concerned the construction will lead to unwanted noise, increased traffic and blocked views.

The medical center is working to quell the concern by working with neighbors on design and agreements in the interest of both parties.

The TMC is the largest health-care facility in Southern Arizona. More than 6,000 babies are born each year, emergency visits total 90,000 and more than 30,000 people are admitted annually, according to the hospital's figures.

The TMC opened in 1943 and has undergone construction throughout the decades. This is the largest reconstruction of the hospital.