Phase 2 is about 87% leased, says Rip Miller, head of Miller Consulting, the company developing the project. The biggest tenant will be the Westlake Surgical Hospital, a full-service medical facility. Miller says the 39,000-sf hospital is to have 16 to 20 beds plus intensive care facilities.
The hospital acts like a magnet for the center, drawing medical services to it, says Norman Gelfand of the Gelfand Group. Gelfand, who represents investors and tenants in real estate transactions, does a lot of his business with medical offices. "The surgery center really helps serve those people that need hospital facilities," he tells GlobeSt.com.
Overall, the real estate market for medical offices and facilities is "tight as a drum," Gelfand says. "And prices are still very strong."
Westlake Medical Center's first phase is 100% leased, Miller says. That full house and the demand for space in the second phase reflects a decentralization of medical services away from central Austin. "It's getting them out of the downtown area and getting them closer to where the patients and doctors actually live and work and need the services," he tells GlobeSt.com.
As retail centers follow the "rooftops" of residential growth, so do medical facilities. "It's just quality of life issues," Miller says. "Just like anything else, having more competition, putting it in better locations to service clients. Because all medicine is a retail delivery." The starting lease rates at Westlake Medical Center are about $26 per sf, triple net, with a yearly increase of 50 cents per sf.
Miller says the building shells should be completed in October. Tenant finish-out will be done through the winter. "We hope to see our first patients in April of '04," he says.Austin architect Susan McFarland designed the center. Miller's company is acting as the contractor.
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