Monday, June 9, 2008

Vallejo planning commission approves Touro cancer center at Mare Island

Vallejo planning commission approves Touro cancer center at Mare Island
East Bay Business Times - by Jessica Saunders Staff reporter

The Vallejo Planning Commission has approved a unit plan and development agreement for Touro University California's proposed cancer treatment center on the northern end of Mare Island.

The unanimous vote June 2 gave final approval to the unit plan for the 20-acre site, and sent the development agreement to the City Council later this month.

The university has been negotiating with the city since January 2007 on terms to build a 125,000-square-foot heavy-ion research and treatment center at the site owned by the city. The facility could be the first heavy-ion center in the United States; there are three in Japan and Germany.

The unit plan described the layout of the site, including the building, parking, landscaping design and architectural design. The development agreement defines terms of the deal between Touro and the city.

Touro envisions the proposed cancer treatment center as the anchor of a future research and education campus, including up to three other research facilities, classrooms, faculty and student housing, and a hotel, on the northern end of Mare Island. It has a 44-acre campus on the south end of the island.

Mare Island was a former Navy shipyard that is being redeveloped with housing and commercial businesses.

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