The city board of directors approved a zoning request from Mercy Hospital Fort Smith (Ark.) for a $162 million expansion on 83 acres of land, Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette reported Oct. 10.
The project is for the emergency room and intensive care unit, expanding the emergency room from 29 rooms to 50 and the ICU capacity from 38 to 64.
About 140 parking spaces are also included in the expansion.
The vote passed unanimously by the board of directors.
"This is a great investment," said Kevin Settle, an at-large city director. "We're going to see a transformation of one of our two hospitals here in manners that we probably can't imagine until it's done."