Southern Ohio Medical Center has announced plans to build an urgent care center in Waverly next to the YMCA. The area proposed for the center to be build will need to be rezoned before the project can proceed.

At the Waverly city council meeting on Tuesday, an ordinance was introduced to allow SOMC to operate an urgent care center in what is zoned as a manufacturing district. The ordinance would rezone the land to a business district, if passed. The ordinance will receive two more readings before being voted on.

“We have purchased land and our plans are to build, an urgent care facility,” said Shawn Jordan, director of community relations for SOMC.

Jordan did not reveal specifics about the proposed property, only that it was vacant property next to the YMCA, which is at 400 Pride Drive.

Jordan said it’s early on in the project.

“We’re working with an architect on what the building will look like, and we are still in planing stages,” Jordan said. “We do hope to break ground sometime in the fall of this year.”

“We did a health screening at the Pike County YMCA a couple of weeks ago and told people as they came in, we’re going to be building next door,” Jordan said.