Dear Action Line,
Just wondering when the new surgical center at Mercy Hospital is going to open. The new building has been sitting empty for months. It looks completely finished down to the artwork on the walls. The parking lot is also empty. Signed, Three Springs Resident
Dear Three Springs Resident,
Mercy Hospital’s corporate parent announced a new surgical center way back in 2022, so it’s no wonder that you’re wondering when it will open. At the time, a news release announcing the new surgical installment lauded how it would expand access to health care in the area, but that clearly hasn’t happened quite yet.
The talk of the new surgical center, to be officially called the Three Springs Surgery Center, started back in the Centura Health times. Centura came about with the marriage of CommonSpirit Health and AdventHealth, but a corporate divorce caused Mercy’s owner to revert to the CommonSpirit name.
Despite the change (and a new CEO for Mercy Hospital) patients could enjoy the benefits of the surgery center soon. Lindsay Radford Foster, spokesperson for CommonSpirit, didn’t have an exact opening date but said the company anticipates the surgery center to open in mid to late July.
That’s good news as the new facility is expected to have three operating rooms and two procedure rooms and serve a range of specialties across spine, orthopedics, pain, podiatry, gastrointestinal and urology.
Speaking of empty, seemingly unused buildings, Action Line also has been looking into the fate of the former Stephanie Morris Nissan building after a question from a Nissan owner.
Do you know if there are plans for a new Nissan dealership on U.S. Highway 160 West? I drive by and see things being moved into the building, but the fence is still up and no one is around for most of the time. I would really like a new Nissan service place in our town.
A new Nissan dealership certainly would be nice, considering the closest one to Durango is Horace Nissan in Farmington, about 50 miles away. That’s a lot of miles that tick up for a visit to the mechanic.
For a refresher on what happened to Stephanie Morris (the dealership, not necessarily the person), check out the Herald’s previous article.
Action Line reached out to a spokesperson for Nissan, who said “the address is no longer a Nissan dealership, so we can’t comment on the property.”
However, a look at the city of Durango property map shows that the address of the former dealership is listed as being owned by NMAC Real Estate Management Co., LLC. A search for NMAC suggests that the four letters could stand for Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp., a branch of the broader Nissan company.
As of this writing, the Nissan spokesperson had not responded to our question about whether Nissan owns the property, and if so, what its plans are for it.
This is an anticlimactic ending for current or would-be Nissan owners, but do trust that we’ll continue looking into it.
Submit questions or any knowledge of the former Nissan dealership to actionline@durangoherald.com or mail questions to Action Line, The Durango Herald, 1275 Main Ave., Durango, CO 81301.
