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WPH plans ‘bigger' medical building
By Anthony McConnell
This document was published online on Wednesday, December 05, 2007
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| An artist rendering by Johnson, Johnson and Crabtree Architects shows West Park Hospital’s proposed medical office building on the west strip. |
The hospital board has voted to pursue a new 60,000-square foot medical office building, despite the recommendation for a smaller building from a feasibility study.
Greystone Brokerage and Development, the company that conducted the study, recommended at the West Park Hospital board's Nov. 28 meeting a 45,000 square foot building with a future 35,000 square foot expansion.
Cost of the new medical office building (MOB) will be about $18 million. That price includes purchasing land (which has already been done) and assumes a full build out of the building, which won't happen until the building reaches full occupancy.
“Costs are all a little padded, because they're based on a conceptual design,” Greystone consultant Ken Birdsong told the board. “(The design) has not been value engineered. We do think there are more dollars to come out of this (estimate).”
He explained that as the design moves forward and the board finalizes what features it wants in the building the total cost should drop.
The board decided to pursue a larger building, to allow for expansion without having to build another building as soon, and if costs become prohibitive the size of the building can change. Even with the larger building there would still be room to add an additional 20,000 square foot building in the future.
The new MOB replaces the Coe Medical Center next to the hospital. It will be located on the south side of the West Cody Strip between the AmericInn Lodge and Lee Plumbing on land donated by the Cathcart family.
Two designs for a 60,000 square foot building were presented to the board. Both had the same floor plan, but the exteriors are different There's a $1.4 million difference in price.
“We don't want it to look like a motel,” board member Melissa Fraser said. “If we're going to build out there we should build something we'll be proud of.”
She added that while the building should be attractive the board needs to be aware of cost, and should work with project architect David Johnson to find a balance.
Johnson met with tenants of the Coe building to see what features they would like and what floor of the three-story building they would prefer.
While no leases have been signed and physicians are still considering if they want to move into the new MOB, it's proposed that the Urgent Care Clinic, Absaroka Orthopedics, Northern Wyoming Ophthalmology and the children's clinic and pharmacy would be on the first floor of the three-story building. Laboratory and X-ray services also would be on the first floor.
The second floor would house Cedar Mountain Center and Behavioral Health, outpatient rehabilitation services, women's health care and general surgeons. The third floor would be home to Northern Rockies Neuro-Spine, Urological Services of Northern Wyoming, and Drs. Rodni Cruz and Lisa Williams.
The second and third floors would still have vacant space for future medical offices.
Greystone has identified 14 potential tenants for the MOB, and the hospital plans to add 4-5 new physicians in the next several years which might locate in the MOB.
Leases for the new building are proposed at about $21 per square foot. Tenants in the Coe building currently pay about half that amount.
Johnson proposed an “aggressive” 15-month schedule for the project.
From January-April 2008 he would finalize the design of the building, allowing the city to review and approve the plan in April-May. As the plans are being finalized, lease arrangements would be finalized.
Construction could start in July 2008 and end in March 2009, with the building being ready for occupancy in April 2009.
Next is the design and development phase to “work out all the details,” which includes selecting a contractor, Johnson said.
“The idea is to have the contractor on board while you are doing your work,” he added.
Once the contractor is selected, he can work with Johnson in the design phase to select cost efficient materials, and bring down the final cost of the building.
The board is expected to select a contractor at their next meeting at the end of January.
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