Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – A recent rezoning of 40 acres Memorial Health System is about to buy may not sound big at first blush. But, as Springfield Business Journal executive editor Michelle Ownbey tells the WTAX Morning Newswatch, it adds to a footprint of land Memorial and SIU Medicine own near Wabash Avenue and Archer Elevator Road. Ownbey describes it as “probably a deal that’s going to happen down the road.”

“Both Memorial and SIU are saying that there’s nothing in the works right now, (that) this is more of a five- to ten-year plan, but to me, that sounds like a lot more than an Urgent Care clinic.  You’ve got sixty acres of land out there now, fifty of them owned by Memorial and ten by SIU. Sounds like something pretty significant that they’re laying the groundwork for.”

The Springfield city council has approved a zoning change for the latest parcel – 40 acres to be purchased by Memorial.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was corrected to reflect the accurate number of acres being purchased. It is, indeed, 40. It was both correct and incorrect in portions of this story.