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Value engineering shaved nearly $20 million from the original proposal for the new children’s hospital at the University of New Mexico.
Photo courtesy of DCSW Architects Inc.

Project Case Study: U of New Mexico puts the lid on costs

$233 MILLION PUBLIC HOSPITAL IS A STUDY IN KEEPING A PROJECT ON TARGET By Jessica Griffith The University of New Mexico Hospital received quite a bit of money from the state Legislature – $40 million to be exact – to build a new children’s hospital and critical care pavilion. The hospital combined that money with […]

Market Focus: Med demand soars in the Windy City

SYSTEMS SEE NEED FOR BIG PROJECTS; CON BOARD DOESN’T ALWAYS AGREE By John Mugford It looks as if the scandal concerning the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board (IHFPB) is a thing of the past. For the board that oversees the state’s certificate of need (CON) process, the past year-and-a-half was rife with allegations about kickbacks […]

News & Analysis: New Orleans might never be the same

OTHER 2005 HURRICANES CAN’T RIVAL THE LONGTERM IMPACT OF KATRINA By John Mugford Katrina, Rita, Wilma… it looks as if 2005 will go down as yet another Year of the Hurricane. Lest we all forget that just a year ago, in 2004, four major hurricanes crashed into Florida and caused millions of dollars worth of […]

Publisher’s Letter: Inflation is a concern

BUT HEALTH CONSTRUCTION WILL REMAIN STRONG By Murray W Wolf Dear Reader: Financial markets are becoming increasingly worried that rising inflation might inhibit economic growth in 2006, and there is data to support those concerns. The annual U.S. inflation rate, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), has remained less than 5 percent since […]

Product Focus: Red tape, but worth it

PUBLIC HOSPITALS CAN PRESENT OPPORTUNITIES By Jessica Griffith One of the many heartwrenching tales to emerge from the wreckage of Hurricane Katrina was the destruction of Charity Hospital, refuge for the ill and poor and home of the city’s only Level 1 trauma center. Officials have yet to determine how or where Charity will be […]

News & Analysis: Going the REIT route

MEDICAL DEVELOPERS DIFFER ON IPO STRATEGY By Murray W. Wolf The recent news that another longtime medical real estate firm – Cogdell Spencer Inc. – has transformed itself into a healthcare real estate investment trust (REIT) and gone public begs the question: Is that a good strategy? It depends who you talk with. Some veteran […]

Industry Pulse: November 2005

INDIANAPOLIS – As this edition of Healthcare Real Estate Insights™ was about to go to press, we learned that Windrose Medical Properties Trust (NYSE: WRS) has agreed to acquire 22 properties for a total of about $241 million. The sellers are various limited partnerships associated with medical real estate developer Bruce A. Rendina and Rendina […]

Market Focus: Providers are racing for profits in Indy

HOOSIER HEALTH SYSTEMS LOOK TO OTHERS’ TURF TO REV UP MARKET SHARE By John Mugford For as long as folks familiar with the Indianapolis healthcare scene can remember, the metropolitan area’s four major hospital systems operated on somewhat friendly terms. That’s because each stayed within its own turf. For years, Indy’s healthcare scene looked like […]

Sheppard Pratt Health System combined new construction with the adpative reuse of its historic 19th century behavioral health hospital.
Photo courtesy of Sheppard Pratt Health System

Project Case Study: Historic hospital adapts to new needs

SHEPPARD PRATT UPGRADES VENERABLE PSYCHIATRIC FACILITY IN MARYLAND By Jessica Griffith A 19th century vision of humane care for the mentally ill will continue into the new millennium, thanks to an expansion and renovation of the 114-year-old Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital in Towson, Md. The $92 million, five-story hospital is located next to the […]

Product Focus: Behavioral health facilities in demand

REAL ESTATE DEMAND IS CATCHING UP WITH SUPPLY FOR RE-EMERGING INDUSTRY By Jessica Griffith The number of freestanding behavioral health hospitals in the United States stands at 500, virtually unchanged from a decade ago. However, demand is catching up with supply and the market is hot for acquisitions. Plus, new construction is beginning to surface. […]

Thomas K. Hearn III

Provider Profile: Old nemesis now a potential partner

MEDCATH SHIFTS ITS STRATEGY IN WAKE OF SPECIALTY HOSPITAL MORATORIUM By Beth Mattson-Teig Prior to late 2003, many hospitals across the country probably viewed Charlotte, N.C.-based MedCath Corp. (Nasdaq: MDTH) as the enemy – a major competitor to their cardiovascular services. These days, however, MedCath is hoping some of those same hospitals take a second […]

News & Analysis: Novant to sell $100 million+ portfolio

MEANWHILE, BAPTIST DEAL IS NEARLY DONE; COULD FETCH ALMOST $60 MILLION By Murray W. Wolf Novant Health Inc. of Winston-Salem, N.C., plans to sell seven medical office buildings (MOBs) totaling more than 700,000 square feet, a portfolio that will probably fetch more than $100 million. That’s according to a principal with the investment bank that […]

Publisher’s Letter: Ground floor opportunity

Dear Reader: Wolf Marketing & Media, the publisher of Healthcare Real Estate Insights™, will soon launch two exciting new publications that will help you to profit from two more emerging real estate niches. Bioscience Real Estate Insights™ will cover real estate news and trends in the huge, fast-growing bioscience industry and Education Real Estate Insights™ […]

News & Analysis: Katrina’s consequences

FATE STILL FOGGY FOR GULF COAST MED FACILITIES By John Mugford Hurricane Katrina struck more than a month ago. Yet, the future of many affected healthcare facilities – and the implications for the Gulf Coast medical real estate market – remain difficult to forecast. The massive hurricane’s eye made landfall near New Orleans on Aug. […]

Financing & Investment: CNL and Cirrus team up

FIVE YEARS OR $1 BILLION, WHICH EVER COMES FIRST By Murray W. Wolf CNL Retirement Properties Inc., which in August 2004 acquired 55 percent of DASCO Cos., is teaming with another medical real estate developer to invest up to $1 billion in medical real estate during the next five years. Nothing has been formally announced, […]