Hospital plans clinic in Tops plaza

WATKINS GLEN—Schuyler Hospital is planning to turn the former Dollar General building at the Tops plaza into doctors’ offices and a walk-in clinic.
The Watkins Glen planning board approved the project’s preliminary site plan at the Wednesday, Nov. 17, meeting. Michelle Benjamin, director of communications for Schuyler Hospital, said the plan is still in the early stages. She said the hospital is not sure which services will be moved to the Tops plaza location. Benjamin said some of the doctors at the hospital’s Guthrie Building office may move there.
The project goes before the Schuyler County Planning Commission and returns to the village planning board for a public hearing, Wednesday, Dec. 15, at 7:30 p.m. At the planning board meeting, Matt Taylor, project representative, said the Department of Health also needs to inspect and approve the plans.
Benjamin said if all goes according to plan, the office and clinic could open in late spring of 2011. She said this project has been in the works for about a year. Benjamin explained the Tops plaza was chosen because it offers plenty of space and parking. Watkins Glen planning board chairperson Joe Fazzary said the plans should be easy to approve because the Tops plaza location has so much space.
“We want to increase our visibility in Watkins Glen,” said Benjamin. “We also hope to make services more accessible to more people.”
When the office is complete, it will be one of several Schuyler Hospital locations throughout the county. Benjamin said the other locations include the hospital itself, September Hill, and Dr. Spaulding’s family practice in Montour Falls; the Guthrie Building offices in Watkins Glen and the Ovid Primary Care Center.