SAN MARCOS — Scripps Health will build a new medical center in the North City area of San Marcos on land initially purchased decades ago, the health system announced Monday.
The Scripps San Marcos Medical Center campus will be on a 13-acre site south of state Route 78 and north of Discovery Drive. The project will have two phases: a comprehensive ambulatory facility and an acute care hospital.
Scripps Health originally purchased around 80 acres of land in 1990 to build a San Marcos medical center, but president and CEO Chris Van Gorder said it wasn’t the right time. Instead, much of the Scripps land was used to build homes and extend Discovery Street in partnership with developer H.G. Fenton.
Over the past four years, Scripps has been developing a master plan for a medical center on the remaining 13 acres of land. Last week, the Scripps Health board of trustees approved plans for the $1.3 billion facility.
“Our patient population in the area has since grown to the point that it made sense for us to move forward. Scripps provides care to many residents of the San Marcos region today, and this campus will expand access and make care more convenient for these patients and their families,” Van Gorder said.
Scripps is now working with the city of San Marcos on developing a comprehensive ambulatory care facility. The facility will feature multi-specialty and primary care physician offices, ambulatory surgery, cancer care, complex imaging, laboratory and other services.
The acute care facility will range from 200 to 250 beds and provide a broad range of inpatient and outpatient hospital services.
According to Scripps spokesperson Janice Collins, there is no planned start date for construction at this time.
This new facility will be directly across from the existing Kaiser Permanente San Marcos Medical Center, which opened in 2023, and around a mile from Scripps Health’s primary care offices on Campus Way.
“A major player like Scripps choosing to invest in San Marcos is exciting on so many levels,” said San Marcos Mayor Rebecca Jones. “We have worked hard to become a premier health care hub in the region, which not only supports a strong local economy but contributes to the ultimate goal of making San Marcos a place where people live long, healthy lives.”
The North City area has boomed with development in recent years. The land directly adjacent to the Scripps property, known as North City West, is currently being developed with new housing and is also planned for a new park.
The San Marcos Unified School District also bought a 4-acre plot in North City West earlier this year, but it has not been confirmed as being used at this time.
