Medical offices coming to Lake Nona and St. Cloud

No sector of the real estate world is immune from the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic – not even medical offices.

But some projects do appear to be moving forward based on recent permit filings. Those include a new Health Park medical office building next to the Lake Nona Emergency Room under construction now by AdventHealth and a new OptumCare primary care facility in St. Cloud.

Cushman & Wakefield healthcare specialist Anne Spencer told GrowthSpotter the only projects she knows of that are getting funding now were set in motion well before COVID-19 hit the U.S.

“That OptumCare in St. Cloud has been in the works for a year,” she said. “As for new capital projects, every hospital system that I work with and my colleagues work with, they’re all putting capital projects on hold.”

That spending freeze impacts everything from new construction and land acquisition to equipment purchasing. “I’ve heard from Siemens, who manufacturers large equipment, a lot of orders have been cancelled or put on hold, so the trickle down effect of this is massive,” Spencer said.

Officials at AdventHealth could not confirm the timing for the new medical office building in Lake Nona. The company broke ground in early 2019 on the 19,000-square-foot Lake Nona ER building at 10080 Lake Nona Boulevard, and that building is scheduled for completion this spring. Last week the hospital company filed a Specific Parcel Master Plan with city of Orlando to add the Health Park medical building to the campus, which is at the intersection of Narcoossee Road and Lake Nona Boulevard.

“Health Park” is the new branding for the company’s medical buildings that accompany new free standing emergency departments in both Clermont and Kissimmee. The two-story, 36,000-square-foot facilities will include primary and specialty care, imaging, outpatient sports medicine and rehab and lab services, as well as a full-service coffee shop.

“Health parks represent a dramatic reimagining of the health-care experience,” said Dr. Scott Brady, senior vice president of ambulatory services for the AdventHealth Central Florida Division in discussing the Clermont facility. “Based on extensive consumer research, AdventHealth health parks will offer our patients a much easier, more convenient experience to access the care they need.”

In St. Cloud, developer Shawn Jones of Punta Rassa Capital broke ground Monday on a new 7,800-square-foot OptumCare medical practice at 1000 E Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway in St. Cloud. The developer paid $850,000 in February for the 1.1-acre lot, which is virtually next door to another new medical practice by DNF Medical Centers at E192 and Old Hickory Tree Road.

The site is located about 5 miles east of the new AdventHealth Kissimmee ER and Health Park at 2510 E Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway. The seller was represented by Bob Barkett of Barkett Realty Group.

Neil Buck, managing partner of JB Realty Partners, represented the buyers, who are doing a build-to-suit project for the national medical provider. A division of United Healthcare, Optum operates dozens of medical offices, walk-in clinics and outpatient surgical care facilities in Florida across its multiple brands, but very few are located in greater Orlando. Buck said the company wanted to expand its presence in Central Florida.

The development team consists of Kimley-Horn for engineering and landscape design, and architect Courtney Fels with Little Diversified. Alabama-based Termac Construction is the general contractor.

Have a tip about Central Florida development? Contact me at lkinsler@GrowthSpotter.com or (407) 420-6261, or tweet me at @LKinslerOGrowth. Follow GrowthSpotter on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.