Swedish says it will spend $20 million to build out and furnish the building, which is known as I-90 Lake Place I, Building B. Owned by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, the property is located at 2005 N.W. Sammamish Rd., across from the entrance to Lake Sammamish State Park. The negotiated lease rate was not immediately available; if signed for the state's asking rate of $1.50 per sf per month, the lease would cost Swedish an additional $20 million over the 20-year term.
"This building met all our basic requirements," says Kevin Brown, Swedish's project leader. "It has an excellent location, workable floor plan, easy ingress and egress, and good visibility from I-90."
Construction planning is under way now for the complex and tenant improvement work is set to begin in September, after two of the three current-occupant leases expire. The target opening date is February 2005. The work includes significantly reconfiguring interior walls, upgrading HVAC equipment, adding systems for delivery of medical gases, installing a backup generator and constructing an entrance for emergency vehicles. In addition to the ER, the Swedish complex will include a medical-imaging center and, on the second floor, a community health education classroom and offices for primary care and specialty physicians.
Swedish has selected the Seattle architectural firm Callison to handle design work. Design work will begin immediately. A general contractor will be named in the next few months.
The first of its kind in Washington State, the freestanding emergency-room complex will be staffed by approximately 75 physicians, nurses, technicians and support personnel. It will be open around-the-clock to treat patients with problems requiring immediate and specialized attention.
Looking forward even further, Swedish recently filed a letter of intent with Washington State Department of Health officials, notifying them of the medical center's plans to file a formal Certificate-of-Need application en route to opening a full-fledged community hospital in the area in the next several years.
"After conducting significant consumer research and studying population growth patterns, we believe locating these services in Issaquah supports both the needs of the residents and our nonprofit mission of serving the region," says Swedish chief executive Richard Petersen. "The Eastside is growing at an exceptional rate, and some areas, especially Issaquah, remain significantly underserved when it comes to specialty and emergency healthcare services."
Swedish has been exploring ways to expand services to the Eastside for several years. As things stand now, Swedish is the second-largest provider of inpatient services to Eastside residents living along the I-90 corridor and the third-largest inpatient provider to Eastside residents overall. Swedish also operates two primary-care clinics and a number of specialty clinics at Eastside locations, including Bellevue/Crossroads, Factoria and Pine Lake.
"We know that Eastside residents want more services available locally and they are very receptive to the idea of Swedish providing those services," says Brown. "Beyond what we are hearing from residents, we have also heard from our physicians; nearly one-third of the physicians on our medical staff either live or practice on the Eastside, and many have expressed a strong desire for Swedish to have an even greater presence there."
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