A Texas company is seeking to build a $13 million micro-hospital near airport on land where extended-stay hotel was rejected

A Texas company that develops micro-hospitals is proposing a $13 million project on Milwaukee's far south side.

Houston-based Nutex Health Inc. wants to develop a 22,073-square-foot hospital at 1801 W. Layton Ave., just west of I-94.

That's according to information filed with the Milwaukee Department of Neighborhood Services, which oversees building inspections.

Nutex is seeking a preliminary plan review to determine if the hospital would meet the site's zoning requirements, according to department records.

It would have six to eight inpatient beds and eight to 10 emergency room beds, according to a separate filing with the Board of Zoning Appeals.

That filing said the micro-hospital would cost $13 million to develop, and have 50 employees. It would serve 10 to 40 patients a day.

A Nutex executive couldn't be reached Thursday for more information about the proposed facility.

Nutex describes itself as a consortium of specialty hospitals. Their services include 24/7 emergency care, according to the company's website.

Founded in 2011, Nutex operates micro-hospitals in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas, Louisiana and Indiana.

Micro-hospitals are part of the broader trends of providing care closer to where people live and in less costly settings than acute-care hospitals.

They are considered an option for some patients who require relatively basic care, such as those who are dehydrated or who have pneumonia.

Southeastern Wisconsin micro-hospitals include include Ascension Wisconsin's facility, with an emergency room and eight inpatient beds, that opened last year in Menomonee Falls.

The Nutex facility would be developed on a vacant parcel owned by an affiliate of Wichita, Kansas-based WoodSpring Suites, an extended-stay hotel chain.

The land is just south of the Mitchell Interchange and is about a mile northwest of Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport.

The Common Council in 2018 rejected a license application for a WoodSpring hotel at the 1801 W. Layton site after objections from then-Ald. Terry Witkowski and nearby homeowners.

The first Milwaukee WoodSpring Suites is under construction south of West Bradley Road and east of North 124th Street on the far northwest side.

Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.