To be truly successful, Cahill says, these facilities need to be strategically located. In the past this meant being near a hospital—but that's changed. These days, the hospitals want these facilities in centralized locations that are easily accessible by multiple towns with a strong payer mix.

Kurt Hutter, executive vice president, at Wilmington, DE-based Anchor Health Properties, a full service development company focused exclusively on the development of medical facilities, says, “Healthcare real estate is no longer being tucked away in an office complex. Healthcare is now competing with banks and pharmacies for the corner lot.”

Join the conversation on April 28 for RealShare ATLANTA, the metro's premier CRE event. Click here for details and to register.

ATLANTA—The factors spurring healthcare real estate industry growth are also spurring its evolution. Without a retiring baby boomer generation and the Affordable Care Act, the healthcare industry would not be facing the pressure to change business as usual. Add technological advances to the mix and you see a rapidly changing—and ever-increasingly competitive—healthcare real estate scene.

“Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, we've seen the focus shift to the overall quality of outcomes for patients,” says Imran Javaid, managing director of Healthcare Real Estate at Capital One Bank. “Under the new rules, operators can be penalized for hospital readmissions within a certain timeframe, so it's more important than ever that seniors housing operators focus on patient care, including updated technology and an engaged, well-trained staff. When we are assessing potential borrowers, we look for the best developers and operators who have a strong business plan for maintaining positive patient outcomes.”

“Patient convenience” is also a key phrase. Sean Cahill, principal of Avison Young's Fairfield/Westchester, New York office, sees medical office buildings that were fully occupied for decades by traditional medical services standing half empty. That's because newer facilities are built to satisfy the demands of the patient populations that want easier access, better signage and parking, smaller more specialized services in warmer and more welcoming environments.

“Those sectors that are reliant on promotion and visibility are now turning to retail plazas with billboards for signs and thousands of potential customers a day utilizing the neighboring retails stores,” Cahill says. “Hospitals continue to acquire physicians and entire groups—and to maximize their investment they need these groups to be assembled under one roof, driving patient volume and referrals with as little competition as possible.”

To be truly successful, Cahill says, these facilities need to be strategically located. In the past this meant being near a hospital—but that's changed. These days, the hospitals want these facilities in centralized locations that are easily accessible by multiple towns with a strong payer mix.

Kurt Hutter, executive vice president, at Wilmington, DE-based Anchor Health Properties, a full service development company focused exclusively on the development of medical facilities, says, “Healthcare real estate is no longer being tucked away in an office complex. Healthcare is now competing with banks and pharmacies for the corner lot.”

Join the conversation on April 28 for RealShare ATLANTA, the metro's premier CRE event. Click here for details and to register.