Skanska, U.S. HealthRealty join forces

FIRM PLANS TO PURSUE HEALTHCARE PROJECTS THROUGHOUT UNITED STATES

 

By John Mugford

 

The healthcare industry could be seeing the name of a new, yet familiar, player on real estate projects in the future.

That’s because Parsippany, N.J.-based Skanska USA Building Inc. recently formed a partnership with U.S. HealthRealty LLC to develop healthcare real estate project in the United States.

Skanska is best known as one of the largest healthcare construction contractors. Now, with the new entity, Skanska HealthRealty, the firm plans to offer pre-development and development services, capital financing, and owner and asset management.

Skanska HealthRealty’s leadership is composed of Skanska Co.’s Chief Operating Officer Joey Hatch and Area General Manager Gary Cooper, and U.S. HealthRealty principals Chris Yontz and Nick Paul.       

Prior to the formation of U.S. HealthRealty, Mr. Paul was the director of real estate for Nashville-based HealthTrust Inc. There, he was responsible for the planning, financing and development of every medical office project associated with the company’s 135 hospital clients.

Mr. Yontz was previously the founder and president of Security Medical LLC, a healthcare development and equipment finance company. He developed numerous outpatient facilities, including diagnostic imaging centers, ambulatory surgery centers, and medical office buildings (MOBs).

Skanska USA Building Inc., which is part of the Solna, Sweden-based Skanska AB global group of companies, has about 3,800 employees.

In other news from Skanska, the company recently announced that it landed a contract to build a $150 million cancer center at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Fla. The project is slated for completion in 2009.

Callison-designed

heart center nears

opening in Oregon

BEND, Ore. – The Heart Center at Cascade Healthcare Community’s St. Charles campus in Bend is set to open in November. With its wellness gardens, soothing artwork and warm interior designs, the 60,000 square foot, $12 million facility was designed to remove the stresses associated with hospital visits.

The architect on the three-story project is Seattle-based Callison, which has designed several facilities at the St. Charles campus in Bend, which located in the central part of the state.

Callison officials say the design of the facility integrates natural elements from the surrounding Central Oregon desert, such as such as stone, water and glass to bring in natural light. In addition to the architectural design, Callison provided site planning and medical planning for the Heart Center, as well as the interior design for the building’s public spaces.

The Heart Center is a partnership between Cascade Healthcare Community and Heart Center Cardiology; it is the region’s first cardiac care facility that provides a comprehensive, integrated heart program under one roof.  The Heart Center’s services include education, wellness and prevention programs, and the most advanced, specialized heart surgery and rehabilitation available.

HuntonBrady gets

assignment for new

hospital in Florida

ORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando-based HuntonBrady Architects was recently chosen to design a new 100-bed hospital in Viera, Fla.

The Orlando-based firm was chosen in August by Rockledge, Fla.-based Health First, a not-for-profit system that operates three acute-care hospitals along Florida’s Space Coast.

Florida’s State Agency for Health Care Administration issued a Certificate of Need (CON) for the hospital in April. The hospital is planned as part of a 50-acre development that would include a health and fitness center, an MOB and an outpatient diagnostic center. The project is located just west of Interstate 95 in Brevard County.

For the Record

Wichita, Kan.-based-based Heath Facilities Group recently announced that it has been chosen to design a 34,000 square foot hospital in Friona, Texas. The future hospital would be a replacement for the existing Parmer County Community Hospital, which was built in the 1950s. The new facility would have 13 inpatient rooms and include acute care space, diagnostic imaging, laboratory services, and physical therapy and occupational therapy departments. The design allows a future expansion, which could include a surgery wing. The hospital would be connected to an MOB. Friona is a town of about 4,800 residents… Cambridge Realty Capital Cos. recently reported processing 30 loan origination requests totaling $414.4 million in August, down marginally from 32 loans totaling $586.4 million during August 2006. Cambridge specializes in lending for the senior housing/healthcare industry. Even with the drop in August, year-to-date loan request volume remained ahead of last year’s pace, according to the company’s Chairman Jeffrey A. Davis. For the year – through the end of August – Cambridge had processed 254 origination requests totaling $3.19 billion, compared with 285 loans totaling $2.89 billion for the same period in 2006. Mr. Davis notes in a press release that lenders close a relatively small percentage of the loan requests they receive. However, it’s useful to track the information as an indication of market directions, he says… In other news from Cambridge, the company recently provided a $6.4 million FHA-insured HUD permanent mortgage loan for the St. Joseph’s Healthcare Center of Hamtramck, Mich. In a press release, the company says the fully-amortized, 26-year term loan refinances the 169-bed skilled nursing facility. The property is owned by a Michigan-based limited liability company (LLC). Cambridge officials stated that the lender used HUD’s Section 232 pursuant to Section 223(f) funding program. The interest rate was not revealed. q