North Wilkesboro, N.C: West Park Medical Complex Conceptual Master Plan

Established in 1991, The Health Foundation is leading a community-wide, cross-sector initiative helping to ensure that all of the nearly 70,000 Wilkes County residents grow up healthy and active. In 1996, The Health Foundation, a 501(c)(3) dedicated to improving the health and well-being of residents in Wilkes County, purchased a declining strip shopping center in North Wilkesboro that rests on 28.29 acres and converted it into a medical park; West Park Medical Complex. The shopping center had become a community eyesore, that The Health Foundation sought to improve. Conveniently located just one-quarter mile from the regional hospital, it is now home to a synergistic array of services promoting health and wellness.

The West Park Medical Complex is located west of North Wilkesboro in a bottom-land on the north bank of the Yadkin River. Programs currently housed at the complex include an Express YMCA, pre-school age public playground, outpatient rehab services, oncology services, primary care medical services, urgent care services, an imaging center, pediatrics, an adult day healthcare center complete with a therapeutic garden, and a public health dental clinic serving both adults and children. Adjacent medical offices include mental health services and obstetrics, making the park and its environs the destination of choice for medical services spanning the human life cycle and condition.

The health complex also serves as a destination for active and passive recreation. The trailhead for the Yadkin River Greenway, a pedestrian/ cycling connector between the towns of Wilkesboro and North Wilkesboro is located within the West Park Medical Complex. This greenway creates connections for the community to a variety of natural and cultural interests in the region. There are also possible future connections to the town of Wilkesboro and more regionally, W. Kerr Scott Lake, the Blue Ridge Parkway, Stone Mountain State Park, and Brushy Mountains.

The Health Foundation was seeking innovative ways to make the property flourish as a place of healing. They envision the West Park Medical Complex as a model landscape that expresses healthy eating and healthy living. Open space, trails, and signage would transform the parking lot and surrounding landscape into a site that encourages healthy choices and active living programs. These amenities would be available to patients, visitors, employees, and the community’s residents. The Health Foundation further envisions a place that fosters community building and exemplifies how urban landscapes can be optimally designed to be environmentally conscious, minimize pollutant run-off, and be bird friendly.

The property, which is bounded by Route 421 to the north, West Park Drive to the east, the Yadkin River to the south, and an office park to the west, also exists within a flood plain (see maps on following pages). Currently, the majority of the site’s businesses are at the perimeter of the property. A large asphalt parking lot services the buildings and provides an excess of 250 parking spaces. The Health Foundation is open to seeing how to reclaim approximately 25% of the existing parking by removing asphalt and replacing it with open space, paths, planting for the visitors’ comfort, and vegetation.