SouthEast Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) has submitted plans to the Haines borough to construct a hospital, medical clinic and employee housing on 12 acres.

Phase 1 of the project, which would include site prep, road work, utilities, the 32,800-square-foot clinic and employee housing, is estimated at $65 million in the application for a borough conditional-use permit.

The plan lays out a number of changes to health care services in Haines, including the addition of a 24-hour emergency department and a long-term care unit.

The planned complex includes space for services currently provided at the existing SEARHC medical clinic in Haines, as well as behavioral health, dental care and physical therapy, which are currently housed at a separate SEARHC facility in the town.

In its proposal to the borough, the regional health care provider describes the existing clinic as requiring “drastic improvements or complete replacement.”

The plans also include four single-story duplexes — eight housing units — for SEARHC employees.

In addition to the clinic at 32,800 square feet, the hospital is planned at 13,000 square feet and the long-term care facility at 10,800 square feet.

The regional health care provider opened a $30 million hospital and long-term care facility in Wrangell in 2021 and has since added a medical building in Juneau as it expands its services in the region.

The nonprofit also plans to develop eight furnished rental units for its employees in Wrangell.

Haines has a population of just over 2,500 people, according to the latest state estimate, about 500 more than Wrangell.

In the documents submitted to the Haines borough, SEARHC said the new facility will be a “critical access hospital” — a federal designation for rural hospitals that meet a specific set of care requirements and in turn receive benefits, including increased Medicare compensation.

Site work could begin this year, according to plans submitted to the borough. Construction of the housing and medical clinic could start late next spring. The housing units could be completed before the end of 2026, with the medical clinic taking until fall 2028 to complete, according to SEARHC’s project timeline included in their submission to the borough.

The size and scope of the facility will require an upgrade to Jones Point Road, which will be the main access point to the property west of downtown Haines, and an extension of borough water lines. The plan is for SEARHC to pay for those upgrades, Donna Lambert, the borough’s planning and zoning technician, said.

The plans will need to go through a permitting process, which will include the planning commission and review by the water and sewer department.