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Home My WebLink About2015 04-07 Planned Parenthood coming to Little Canada MAPLEWOOD REVIEW N�anned Narentnood coming to Little Canada Submitted by admin on Tue, 04/07/2015 - 12:OOam By: Johanna Holub �,� .�-»---�_ µv �`�"`.� <.— �'``�, ��,..s+,�� :��, a;� � ,� aa, k �:�. ��; �., � �¢ ' � � � �£� °�...._'.�a.;. � _ ..a ,. �r�A �.. � . .� �,y��4 ` �,�" .�.�.*:.t.s-,ti:s` .w� . . '6"�.. '%�. ' .+.»z:±�,�� . ��.,dws��..». .... ... ��%v,:':�'w�'S. �, '"`�' 1�. -�� . ' �` . o X� �'� 's *x� .. w� �'+'*�„� � ta � :� .. �,� r� . ,€�'� � �-`�� .rY«� 4� , Ylk� �.... ' .,� '"( 3+ �� '�.fi��Y � � 8 `�^a'' h� 8��2�-�r�.�t'. !,_ .�. �#�� 'a��`" �►�t�..,�:...�`+.K'"�Y.z��-:�"S"�1�.M_ _"��"��6+: �`�• .�. �.�' °+kac�„'<.�.'�a, [21 The building going up at on the northeast corner of the Rice Street and Highway 36 intersection will house a Planned Parenthood family planning clinic, which will open by fall. (Linda E. Andersen/Review) New clinic being built off Hwy.36 on Rice Strect Planned Parenthood is moving up the street to a brand new location in Little Canada near the intersection of Rice Street and state Highway 36. The organization,which provides a variery of health care services and education,already operates an office about a mile down the road in Maplewood,which will close after the new clinic opens.In July 2014,The Davis Group,a corporate real estate company,purchased the.9 acres of land at 2250 Rice Street from the city for about$375,400,but had not yet named a tenant,though it said it had one`9ined up,"Mayor John Keis said in an interview last week.At the July 9 city council meeting,city administrator Joe(Hanson said he was told it would be a"general practice"cliniaThe land,which was a remnant of the 2007 realignment of the Viking Drive frontage road,is zoned for general business use, which includes medical facilities.The one-story clinic in Little Canada,accessible from Viking Drive,is currently being constructed after undergoing an architectural review with the city in August 2014.PIanned Parenthood hopes to be able to open the new clinic at the end of the summer or early fall,with some overlap before closing the Maplewood dinic. Family planning clinic Jennifer Aulwes,communications director for Planned Parenthood Minnesota,North Dakota,South Dakota,says the new clinic will be a"solely" family planning clinic,offering a variety of services ranging from cancer screenings to STD testing as well as birth control options,education, annual exams,pregnancy testing and abortion referrals.Vasectomies and abortions will not be performed at the ciinic.Planned Parenthood operates l8 locations in Minnesota,and estimates it prevents about 2Q000 unintended pregnancies a year in the state.The facility on Rice Street in Maplewood is about 1,650-square-feet and served just over 4,000 patients last year,Aulwes said,and Planned Parenthood hopes to be able to double that number with the new 6,500-square-foot clinic in Little Canada"We're basicaily at full capacity;thaYs the reason for our move,° Aulwes explained of the current Rice Street location."Even though it's a smail clinic...iYs successful.IYs growing,and every time we've expanded our hours,patients have just really quickly filled up our appointments."The new location,with visibility from Highway 36 and proximiry to a Metro Transit bus stop,is close enough to the former location to serve the same population,but also reach many more."We looked for quite a while,maybe even close to a year,"Aulwes said."And then this space was identified,and it seemed like a really good fit.It gave us the footprint that we need in terms of growing our ability to serve people,and it just kind of emerged as the right thing."Aulwes added the Planned Parenthood board approved the move in December 2014. `It is what it is' Keis announced the facility would be a Planned Parenthood in his State of the City report in the monthly city newsletter distributed to residents.He told the Review that aithough the clinic complies with Little Canada's zoning codes,he thinks the city council members may have had stronger opinions about the project if they had known it would become a Planned Parenthood."We said,`Good,'[the developer]went and did it,and then after it was all done,we found out that it was a Planned Parenthood,"Keis said."So...is that the ideal clinic we would've liked?No, thaYs probably not.But,given our(zoning]codes and everything else...iYs acceptable in that area.""It is what it is,"he added,aclrnowledging the city can't discriminate against specific businesses or organizations if the use is permitted under city zoning laws,but said the council likely would've had"more of a discussion"at the time the purchase agreement was approved last summer.The city became aware of Planned Parenthood's intentions to occupy the building in mid-January when the organization's regional vice president ofexternal afYairs,Connie Lewis, reportedly called incoming city council member Cl�ristian Torkelson to talk about it.Though he calls the reason for her call"fuzzy,"Torkelson posits that because he formerly served as the chair of the Minnesota Young DFL caucus,perhaps Lewis was"gauging[the city's]temperature" because she thought he might be"friendly to her cause.°But still,he said,he thinks The Davis Group should have informed the city what it intended to bring to the space."I think they probably should have...[been]a little more forthcoming with the project,because I feel like some of the city council and staff were caught a little off guard,"Torkelson said. Preparations for public opinion Keis says he has not yet heard from any residents about the Planned Parenthood facility,but anticipates he will as the news gets out."Pm sure there will be some questions or concerns...just based on it being a Planned Parenthood and the association or stigma that goes on with that,"he said.Torkelson said he hopes residents will react positively to the clinia"If there was backlash about it,I personally would find that disappointing,"he said."I'm happy they're there,I think they're going to be super good for the community."Aulwes says iYs hard to know if protests will take place at the new clinic,but says Planned Parenthood is"very experienced"in dealing with protests while keeping in mind the safety of patients,staff and protestors."We wark really closely always with city officials and local officials to plan for anything like that that might happen,and we don't anticipate any problems if it does happen,°Aulwes said.The Davis Group did not return multiple requests for comment. For more information about Planned Parenthood,visit www�lannedparenthood.org. Johanna Ho[ub can be reached at jholu�lillieneirs.com nr h51-74R-7R1 i FnIM,��t,o�„H T,�;��n;ho/i�bneivs