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GROWTH Zone change sought for east Medford parcels The change would open the door for senior housing or medical offices near Providence Comment By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Follow @@GregMTBusiness MailTribune.com By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Follow @@GregMTBusiness Posted Feb. 22, 2016 at 4:37 PM Updated Feb 22, 2016 at 5:01 PM By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Follow @@GregMTBusiness Posted Feb. 22, 2016 at 4:37 PM Updated Feb 22, 2016 at 5:01 PM » Social News Long-time senior community owner and manager Larry Horton has a keen eye when it comes to potential development. Horton and three partners in HATH LLC are seeking a zoning change for a cluster of east Medford parcels acquired during the past nine years that would open the door for additional senior housing or medical offices. "Asante's people said they are running out of land over there, so we figured the next area to develop is the land in this area around Providence hospital," Horton said. "We think it's a good place for medical offices, but we also had the alternative of a retirement community." The request to rezone 5.72 acres between Covina Avenue and Corona Avenue north of East McAndrews Road will go before the Planning Commission at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at City Hall. The property, the majority of which is vacant land, stretches from Covina to Corona and is about midway between McAndrews and Grand Avenue. In the past, the largest chunk of the property was used to store heavy equipment and materials by Virgil Anderson, who sold his holdings to the group in 2007 and has since passed away. "When the recession hit, we just sat on it," Horton said. At present, Accurate Plumbing Solutions rents the space traversed by the Hopkins Canal, which carries irrigation water from Agate Lake. "We kept our eyes on other land around there," Horton said. "One house became available, and then we talked another neighbor into selling their property." John Adam, a principal planner at the city of Medford, said the request makes sense given its proximity to Providence and other medical facilities. Although the property is adjacent to single-family residences to the north and east, its south flank bumps up against a series of office buildings. "A few people were wondering what kind of use was involved, but that's not an issue," Adam said. "It's an area on the cusp of redevelopment. The commercial service and professional office zoning they're shooting for is understandable. It seems they were looking for opportunity and found the opportunity in that vicinity." The 89-year-old Horton, a former engineer who made the retirement industry his second career back in 1991, has had ownership interest in senior communities in Bend, Central Point, Eugene and Grants Pass. He estimates it will be five years before he and his partners, Jack Adams, Joan Taylor and Billy Hogue, will be ready to build. "It's quite a ways out," he said. "We're not actively going around the neighborhood looking for additional property, but if the opportunity comes along we would." There are other pockets close to downtown that have been relatively unused in recent decades, including parcels between Jackson and Fourth streets west of the railroad tracks, Adam said "If you go northward from Budge-McHugh (Supply), you start getting into an industrial area that could be looked at," he said. "Then there are a few areas south of downtown, the places where development has happened 50 or 60 years ago." Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 541-776-4463 or [email protected] . Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GregMTBusiness , on Facebook at www.facebook.com/greg.stiles.31 By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Follow @@GregMTBusiness MailTribune.com By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Follow @@GregMTBusiness Posted Feb. 22, 2016 at 4:37 PM Updated Feb 22, 2016 at 5:01 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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