Mercy to demolish Oak Ridge Boys Theatre

The last puzzle piece for Mercy Springfield Communities’ Branson clinic is about to fall into place – almost literally.

The Oak Ridge Boys Theatre is set for demolition at 10 a.m. July 5, the last major hurdle in the health care provider’s Branson plans.

Nearly three years after receiving Branson Board of Aldermen approval for a planned development, Mercy broke ground May 2 on the $19 million clinic near Cox Medical Center Branson. The planned clinic also is being built at the adjacent site of the former Branson Inn, which was demolished in summer 2013.

“We wanted to ensure we had enough land to grow our services as the community needs grew,” Mercy spokesman Bradley Haller said via email. “The Oak Ridge Boys Theatre had structural deterioration to the point that it would require significant investment to be usable space.  

“Removing the building now creates the least disruption to our patients and the delivery of their care.”

The new clinic would include Mercy Virtual services allowing customers to speak with specialists throughout the St. Louis-based health system’s territory via webcams and the internet. Other services available will be autism therapy, family medicine, internal medicine, cardiac rehabilitation, imaging services, laboratory, oncology, optometry and ophthalmology.

Soon to be gone, but not forgotten, a portion of Oak Ridge Boys Theatre will live on through local public schools.

“We wanted to donate as much as we could after purchasing the property,” said Cheryl Doran, director of planning, design and construction at Mercy, in a news release. “So we partnered with Springfield Public Schools and Springfield Catholic Schools to donate hundreds of chairs. We also donated items like fencing, lighting and seating to the community for restoration.”

In the prior weeks, the 80,000-square-foot theater also served as a training ground for local law enforcement. The Taney County Sheriff’s Department and Branson Police Department both conducted tactical drills in May.

Built atop the hill near the intersection of highways 65 and 248, construction of the multispecialty clinic is expected to take about 18 months.

In addition to its flagship Mercy Hospital Springfield, Mercy Springfield Communities also has regional hospitals in Lebanon, Aurora, Cassville, Mountain View and Berryville, Ark.