Depressed Retail Market Can Offer Upside to Some Medical Office Tenants

What physician group or other medical office user hasn't envisioned having space in a new building, with its space designed and upfitted exactly as desired? But that can come at a cost that may be prohibitive. Here's an article from the Tampa Tribune that shows how existing big box-type space can be put to effective and more affordable medical office use.

Defunct bookstores just what the doctor ordered

The Tampa Tribune
By George Wilkins
Published: April 11, 2012

When Borders closed all three of its Hillsborough County bookstores last year, both Dale Mabry Highway locations were acquired for renovation as medical clinics.The former Borders in Carrollwood, purchased by Florida Medical Clinic for $3.85 million, is being renovated as a comprehensive extended-hours facility to include primary care physicians, family care internists, an array of specialists and an urgent-care facility.

"There will be a strong primary care presence there, so we'll have a lot of family practice doctors; we'll have internists, cardiology services, orthopedic services, ENT, pulmonologists" and more, said Joe Delatorre, chief executive officer of the medical group with 22 area offices. The facility also will have onsite laboratory and diagnostic services.

The 23,486-square-foot building provides sufficient space to create the comprehensive facility he said patients have come to expect: "You can come see your primary care doctor and see many of your specialists, conveniently located within the same facility."

"When you're dealing with an established building — one of the reasons that attracted us to this location — it's a renovation, so permits are easier to deal with and the review process is easier," he said.

Other factors make former Borders stores attractive for renovation as a medical facility.

A big-box bookstore with its unobstructed floor plan is wide open to complete redesign. "We can configure anything we want inside it," Delatorre said. Renovations are expected to cost $1.5 million.

"But I think the big issue is, as physician practices grow and mature and develop and provide more comprehensive services, they need larger facilities," he said. "And some of the traditional retail space that hasn't done well is a good fit for us."

"It's cost effective, in a high-traffic area with good visibility," Delatorre said.

http://www2.tbo.com/news/carrollwood/2012/apr/11/cwopeno2-defunct-bookstores-just-what-the-doctor-o-ar-389362/