News & Analysis: Lillibridge’s final recap
SALE TO VENTAS WILL PROVIDE GROWTH CAPITAL By John Mugford The pending $300 million to $400 million sale of Lillibridge Healthcare Services Inc. and its vast medical office building (MOB) portfolio to publicly traded Ventas Inc. (NYSE: VTR) made quite a splash in various news outlets in the days following the big announcement. Should the […]
Industry Pulse: June 2010
PRINCETON, N.J. – When hospitals and health systems build shiny new replacement facilities, there’s always a question of what to do with the old, left-behind buildings. Princeton HealthCare System, the parent of University Medical Center of Princeton, is currently going through this process – for a second time. As work continues on its future $442 […]

Editor’s Letter: Window on the market
BEEFY TRANSACTIONS SECTION IS A GOOD SIGN By John B. Mugford Dear Reader: I hope you get a chance to check out our “Transactions” section in this edition of Healthcare Real Estate Insights™. I really feel that the items listed in that section provide a small window into what’s taking place in the medical office […]

Special Report: Positive signs for specialty facilities
OWNERS AND OPERATORS SAY SOME RECENT CHANGES ARE ENCOURAGING By Dan Emerson With uncertainty over the effects of healthcare reform and a constantly-shifting healthcare landscape – including dwindling reimbursements – how will specialty outpatient facilities fare in the short- and long-term? That was the focus of a panel discussion at the InterFace Medical Office West […]

Q&A: Grubb & Ellis REIT II off to active start
DANNY PROSKY IS PRESIDENT AND COO OF GRUBB’S SECOND HEALTHCARE TRUST By John Mugford It usually takes some time for a newly formed real estate investment trust (REIT) to get rolling. Back in 2006, for example, it took four months for the fledgling NNN Healthcare/Office REIT to break impounds – in other words, to raise […]

Outpatient Projects: Pricey proton therapy centers planned
NUMBER OF FACILITIES COULD TRIPLE AFTER TWO DECADES OF SLOW GROWTH By John Mugford The first proton beam radiation therapy (PBRT) facility for cancer patients opened in Loma Linda, Calif., in 1990. Despite the effectiveness of the treatment, only six more fully operational PBRT centers have opened in the United States in the subsequent two […]
HTA purchases MOB near Houston for $12.4 million
SUGAR LAND, Texas – Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Healthcare Trust of America Inc. (HTA) recently closed on another MOB transaction, this one in the Houston suburbs. The self-managed, non-traded real estate investment trust (REIT) closed on the purchase of the 60,300 square foot MOB for about $12.4 million, or about $206 per square foot (PSF). The three-story, […]

Transactions: ProMed makes foray into D.C. area
DEMAND WAS HIGH FOR VIRGINIA SQUARE PLAZA, WHICH SOLD FOR $20.6 MILLION By John Mugford Interest from potential buyers was quite intense for Virginia Square Plaza, a two-building medical office and general office building campus that had been put up for sale in the Rosslyn-Ballston Corridor in Arlington, Va. In fact, according to Jim […]
Capital Markets Snapshot: Gusher of financial news roils markets
THE OIL SPILL WAS MAY’S TOP STORY, BUT IT WAS ALSO A WILD MONTH FOR CAPITAL By Murray W. Wolf As the magnitude of BP’s Deepwater Horizon disaster became clear – it is already by far the largest oil spill in U.S. history – the story dominated mainstream media coverage for most of this month. […]
Special Report: What will reform bring?
HEALTHCARE REAL ESTATE PROS SHARE THEIR OPINIONS By John Mugford There has been plenty of talk about what type of impact the recent passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, aka “ObamaCare,” will have on healthcare real estate and the medical office building (MOB) sector. Speculation swings wildly, from reports indicating […]

Product Focus: Q1 MOB sales still slow
BUT BUYERS, SELLERS FINDING COMMON GROUND By John Mugford When it comes to the medical office building (MOB) sales arena, 2010 had all the makings of a big rebound year, a comeback from the dismal performance of 2009. After all, the economy is working its way out of the doldrums and healthcare reform has finally […]
Industry Pulse: May 2010
HOUSTON – As the population ages, it only makes sense for healthcare providers to cater services to the aging demographic. Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital in Houston is doing just that, as it recently opened the first emergency department in Texas geared for seniors. The Senior Emergency Center, which has its own waiting room, is located […]

Editor’s Letter: A time of change
THE FINAL EFFECTS MIGHT NOT BE FELT FOR YEARS By John B. Mugford Dear Reader: Since we launched Healthcare Real Estate Insights™ back in 2003, I cannot recall a another time when more things were happening than right now that could end up having a big impact on the business of running hospitals. The main […]
Companies: HTA, Plaza Cos. form portfolio alliance
PLAZA TO MANAGE, LEASE HEALTHCARE REALTY TRUST’S SUN CITY PROPERTIES By John Mugford Healthcare Trust of America Inc. (HTA), the country’s most prolific buyer of medical office buildings (MOBs) during the last half year, recently chose Peoria, Ariz.-based Plaza Cos. to provide property management and leasing services for its Phoenix area portfolio, which totals more […]

Inpatient Projects: Aurora possibly planning new hospital
15-HOSPITAL SYSTEM REPORTEDLY OWNS SITE IN RICHFIELD, NORTH OF MILWAUKEE By John Mugford Milwaukee-based Aurora Health Care continues to expand its strong presence in eastern Wisconsin, and it is currently working on a deal to acquire up to 50 acres to build a new hospital in Washington […]