There are many locations throughout the country that offer “clean slates” to encourage healthcare projects, which can be particularly helpful when assembling the next generation of healthcare. Medical providers partner with real estate solution providers to create efficient and convenient delivery of services, all while lowering their expenses. One approach has been to establish healthcare facilities or micro hospitals off campus in suburban areas and away from major hospitals in metro regions.

“Most systems want to manage a patient’s care throughout their life span,” says Duke Realty Executive Vice President of Healthcare Keith Konkoli. “You can imagine there are various places along that continuum of care where you need real estate to support that care.”

Duke Realty’s portfolio consists of 138 million sq. ft. (12.8 million sq. m.) of commercial real estate in 21 US metros. Konkoli says demand is particularly strong in the western portion of the US, where population increases are driving thriving markets such as Phoenix and Denver, and states such as California and Texas.

Duke Realty is developing four micro hospital facilities in the Denver metro for SCL Health, one of Denver’s largest healthcare systems. These hospitals feature eight to 10 beds and emergency care services. “In the case of SCL, we looked at locations that were very retail-oriented and convenient for places that SCL needed to complete its network to best serve its patients,” Konkoli says.

It Takes a Village

A development in Henderson, Nevada, is billed by developer Union Village LLC as the world’s first master-planned integrated health village. The project is expected to create 17,000 direct, indirect and construction jobs and generate nearly $10 billion in tax revenues over 25 years.

Henderson Hospital is the anchor facility at the village, and is scheduled to open its doors in October; construction on additional projects will begin next year. The 170-acre (69-hectare) Union Village site will feature medical offices, wellness facilities, park space, and a senior village with assisted, independent and memory care living options.

The March LifeCare Campus in Riverside County, California, will add desperately needed healthcare services to an underserved community. The construction of a 150-bed acute care hospital will begin in 2018. Additional healthcare buildings will begin construction design in 2018 and 2019.

Rendering courtesy of March LifeCare LLC

“We are looking for longevity — we are not a warehouse where people come and live out their lives,” Union Village partner Gary Holland tells Site Selection. “They can come here and be healthy and have life extension. We hope to be the model for the next generation of healthcare both nationally and internationally.”

Union Village’s officials are exploring a medical tourism component, motivated by a broader regional initiative to put medical professionals’ services in front of the 41 million tourists who come to Las Vegas annually.

Military Site Repurposed

In Riverside County, California, March HealthCare Development LLC is developing the March LifeCare Campus at a former military site located on the west side of the county. The county’s healthcare system is underserved, with services to be further strained due to an influx of another 2 million people in the next decade.

The March property consists of nearly 3,500 acres (1,416 hectares) available for reuse; 236 acres (96 hectares) will comprise the healthcare campus. As a special development district within Riverside County, the property enables officials to enter partnerships with developers and invest in projects.

“We have the unique ability to streamline the processes because we are not subject to county or city processes,” says March Joint Powers Authority Management Analyst Grace Williams.

One of the founding members of the development is the Riverside Medical Group, which consists of more than 200 doctors, notes March Joint Powers Authority Executive Director Danielle Wheeler. They want to work from a campus setting that would allow them to provide services in one place, cutting travel time.

As for workforce training, located just a few minutes’ drive from the campus is the University of California-Riverside’s medical school, which recently received accreditation. Moreno Valley College provides allied healthcare training.