Outpatient Notes (September 2006)

Phoenix developer plans massive project

ALGODON MED OFFICE PARK WOULD CONTAIN 4.2 MILLION SQUARE FEET

 

By John Mugford

 

In what would undoubtedly be the largest medical project in the West Valley of the Phoenix metro area, a development firm run by well-known businessman John F. Long and his family plan to break ground in January on Algodon Medical Office Park.
The park is planned as a $367 million, 160-acre project that could eventually contain 4.2 million square feet of Class A medical office space, chiropractic offices, dental schools, rehab clinics, and research facilities. The medical campus is planned as the first phase of an eventual 1,000-acre business and commerce park called Algodon Center.

The overall development is expected to be developed over the course of about 20 years. It is located mostly in the western part of Phoenix (840 acres), with the remainder in the suburb of Avondale. Portions of the land were formerly used to grow cotton.

The developer plans to break ground on the medical campus in January, with construction taking place in phases over the next six years. The park would also contain traditional and extended-stay hotels, restaurants and an undetermined amount of retail space.

The medical component is expected to create about 2,500 permanent jobs at an average salary of more than $70,000, according to research by Long’s company, which is run by the 86-year-old John F. Long and his son, Jacob F. Long. Also involved are John Long’s daughters, Shirley and Manya Long.

According to the brokerage firm representing the Long family, the Phoenix office of Grubb & Ellis/BRE Commercial, an estimated 200,000 square feet in the medical office park is already committed.

Grubb & Ellis brokers say the project is generating national interest, in part because of its location across the road from Banner Estrella Medical Center. Banner Estrella’s campus contains 132,000 square feet of medical office space, most of which is filled. In addition, the park’s location is close to U.S. Interstate 10 and the 101 Loop freeway.

He says the expected “high-wage” new jobs that the park will bring to the area from the medical and research community is “eagerly awaited by the community.”

The remaining 840 acres in Algodon Center is expected to be developed as a major business park dotted by small retail centers, area sources who have been following the project tell. The total build-out of Algodon Center could take 20 years.

About 850 acres of the 1,000 acres are inside Phoenix city limits with the remaining acreage in Avondale. According to Miller, the company will be asking Phoenix city officials next month to rezone certain parcels to allow high-rises buildings of up to 250 feet.

John F. Long bought the 1,000 acres back in 1955. Mr. Long is best known for developing the Maryvale community in west Phoenix during the 1950s, as well as several retail centers in the area. In the past 60 years, he and his family have donated numerous land parcels to various civic, governmental and medical groups for their separate projects.

The project site contractor is Phoenix-based McShane Construction, and the master planner is Phoenix-based The Orcutt/Winslow Partnership.

Bremner-Duke partner

on two new MOBs

in Ohio and Indiana

CINCINATTI, Ohio – A partnership of Bremner Healthcare Real Estate and Duke Realty Corp. are teaming up on two recently announced medical office developments totaling about 240,000 square feet.

One of the projects is a 134,500 square foot, four-story MOB on the Sycamore campus of Kettering Medical Center in Miamisburg, Ohio., south of Dayton, Ohio Ground was broken in recent weeks on the MOB, which is slated f or completion in the summer of 2007.

The other Bremner-Duke project is a three-story, 105,380 square foot MOB and ambulatory services building attached to Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne, Ind. Parkview is a regional, not-for-profit health system in northeast Indiana and western Ohio.

In addition to providing office space for physicians, the MOB in Miamisburg is expected to house some hospital services, such as orthopedics, cardiology, and internal medicine. Providing these services in the new MOB is expected to free up space in the hospital for more patient care and rooms, according to Kettering officials. They add that the new MOB will give them a better chance at recruiting additional physicians.

Tim Dall, senior vice president development services with Bremner, said the project will allow Kettering to move some support services, such as administration, a gift shop, and medical records, to the new MOB to free up more space for patient care services within the hospital.

Dayton-based Kettering Medical Center Network is comprised of four hospitals, a young behavioral center, the Kettering College of Medical Arts, a senior retirement community, and multiple outpatient clinics.

At the Parkview Hospital campus in Fort Wayne, the future MOB is being built on 1.3 acres. It will provide space for a variety of uses, including doctors’ offices, registration, pre-admissions testing, diagnostic imaging, radiation oncology, cytogenetics and ambulatory services, according to Jim Bremner, president and CEO of Bremner Healthcare.

For Bremner Healthcare, a developer and manager of healthcare facilities, and Duke Realty (NYSE: DRE), the country’s largest publicly owned commercial real estate company, the MOB projects are part of a partnership formed by the two Indianapolis-based firms in 2004. The two companies plan, develop, finance, construct and manage healthcare facilities throughout the country.

Prior to the above developments, Bremner-Duke’s most recent project is taking place in Richmond, Va. There, the partnership is redeveloping a three-story, 80,000 square foot office building into a long-term acute care hospital (LTAC) for Louisville-based Kindred Healthcare (NYSE: KND). In the last year, the Bremner-Duke partnership started eight healthcare-related projects totaling more than $100 million.

Hershey hospital

breaks ground on

outpatient facility

HERSHEY, Pa. — Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center has broken ground on a new 165,000 square foot outpatient care center that will consolidate multiple specialties in a single location.  and is expected to serve more than 150,000 patients during the first year it is open. It is slated for completion in 2008.

When complete, the facility will be home to integrated outpatient services for neurology, neurosurgery and orthopedics; outpatient physical, occupational and speech therapy services, rehabilitation and sports medicine; the Penn State Hershey Breast Program — a comprehensive breast-care center; and state-of-the-art imaging services including MRI, CT and digital radiography.

Hospital officials say the new facility is needed to meet the demands of a growing central Pennsylvania population. Since 2002, the hospital has experienced an increase of more than 200,000 visits annually.

Lillibridge Healthcare Real Estate Trust, based in Chicago, is the project developer. The architectural and engineering firm is Omaha, Neb.-based HDR Architecture, and the general contractor is Mechanicsburg, Pa.-based  R.S. Mowery and Sons Inc.

For the Record

Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.-based Rendina Companies has announced it will build a three-story, 60,000 square foot MOB on the campus of Northwest Medical Center in Tucson, Ariz.… Providence Alaska Medical Center has begun construction of a new MOB just down the road from the recently opened Mat-Su Regional Medical Center in Anchorage, Alaska. The new MOB’s radiology services will compete with those at Mat-Su Regional, which is partnering with Plano, Texas-based Triad Hospitals Inc. (NYSE: TRI). The new 74-bed hospital cost $87.6 million to build. It opened ahead of schedule in January. The Providence Alaska Medical center began construction in December on its 12,000 square foot MOB. One of the building’s primary occupants will be Imaging Associates of Providence, as well as two dentists and an orthodontist. The imaging center opened in June… Parkview North Hospital, located in Fort Wayne, Ind., has announced it will build a new $25 million cancer center and outpatient services center. The building will have three stories and 118,000 square feet, with half of the building dedicated to the cancer center and the other half dedicated to outpatient services… Skanska USA Building has been selected by the University of South Florida (USF) as the contractor for the Health South Pavilion, USF’s new seven-story, 126,000 square foot MOB at Tampa General Hospital. The $16.7 million project is expected to open in July 2007. Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau, Mo., recently broke ground on the first phase of its new multimillion-dollar campus expansion. The first phase is planned as a 44,000 square foot, two-story MOB. It is slated for completion in fall 2007. A second building is also planned adjacent to first MOB. The hospital owns about 34 acres nearby, which could accommodate future expansions.q