CREVE COEUR • The City Council has approved plans by BJC HealthCare to replace Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital with a bigger, modern structure as part of an overhaul of its Creve Coeur campus.

The plan, approved unanimously by council members, also includes the addition of four new medical office buildings and a new parking garage.

The approval means city officials agree with the long-term vision for the 54-acre site at the southeastern corner of Olive Boulevard and Mason Road. BJC will still have to come back and seek more approvals when it starts constructing the actual buildings.

The measure was passed Monday evening with the condition that a traffic study be conducted and submitted to the city with each phase of the project.

BJC officials did not say Monday night when the first phase would commence. However, they said they expect to know more in the next couple of weeks.

The first phase would include the replacement hospital and one attached medical office building, according to George Stock, of Stock and Associates, a representative for the project.

Stock did not object to the traffic study.