Plans for a pediatric mental health hospital in Webster Groves can move forward after the St. Louis suburb’s city council Tuesday evening approved zoning and permitting changes to the proposed site.
St. Louis Children’s Hospital and the behavioral health provider KVC needed the council’s approval before building the complex, which includes a planned 77-bed inpatient hospital and an outpatient facility.
The council unanimously approved zoning changes to the property at Gore Avenue and Rock Hill Road. The ordinance also grants two conditional use permits for the property.
“Their unanimous vote, along with the community's voice of support throughout this process, will enable us to provide care for kids who so desperately need it,” representatives from KVC and Children’s wrote in a joint statement. “We will continue to encourage and engage in conversations and discussions with neighbors to share more about the project and how we can be the best partners to the community.”
The council passed the measure with an added amendment to limit the use of the facility to what was contained in the operators’ initial application. Mayor Laura Arnold said the amendment was added in response to residents’ concerns about KVC and Children’s expanding the hospital in the future to include an emergency room or other additions.
Children’s Hospital, which is part of the BJC health system, and KVC, which operates pediatric residential care properties in the Midwest, announced plans to build the facility last year. KVC already runs a school on the property for children and teenagers with behavioral and emotional issues. It bought the land in 2023 from the organization Great Circle.
Some residents in north Webster Groves objected to the plans to build the hospital, expressing concerns about safety, traffic and a lack of transparency about the planning process.
Some have argued that the site, which is surrounded by residential plots, is the wrong place for a health care facility.
Officials at Children’s have said that its Kingshighway hospital has only 14 inpatient beds available for children and teens with mental health emergencies and that the unit is consistently full.
“It’s the easiest vote I’ve had to take,” council member David Franklin said during the meeting. “I look forward to a partnership with BJC in our community and demonstrating to the county writ large that Webster Groves cares not only about its own citizens but the citizens of its region.”
Detractors and supporters had packed previous public hearings regarding the development. Health care providers have supported the bill, saying that the region needs more pediatric mental health treatment capacity.
Several council members on Tuesday said they appreciated that many Webster Groves residents became involved in the debate.
“People get introduced to city government in different ways, and it's so important that people can be involved at the local level,” said council member Emily Hixson Shepherd. “I love the idea of being involved with this and then transferring that into further engagement at the community and local level.”
Arnold said she knows that some people will be unhappy with the final decision. The council will keep residents’ concerns in mind as the project moves forward, she said.
“It's our responsibility to make sure we work with BJC, KVC, Children's Hospital and the neighbors to make sure that everyone is happy with this project when it's completed and it's operating,” Arnold said.
