The COVID-19 Shutdown Tests Medical Office Buildings As An Investment

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As U.S. health-care systems limit medical services to emergency and urgent care situations in the face of COVID-19, medical office buildings are standing empty, and the threat of tenants missing lease payments mounts.

Still, experts say, investors have every reason to keep MOBs high on their list of sector favorites. In addition to pent-up demand, strong sector fundamentals—aging Baby Boomers, expanded medical insurance coverage, new treatment options and shifts in service delivery—are expected to aid the MOB sector’s rebound and its love affair with investors.

“Medical office buildings and other outpatient care settings have been hot commodities in commercial real estate investment for the past several years,” according to Cushman & Wakefield’s 2020 Health Care Investor Outlook released at the end of last year. “Legacy investors are doubling down on the sector, while new investors are competing for the limited product supply.”

In the meantime, medical office building owners will have to wait for tenants and their patients to return.

“Most owners are trying to not make an impulsive decision, to wait and see how this situation plays out,” said Allen Bolden, a partner with HB Medical Real Estate.

But despite the MOB market’s underlying strength, too much time may prove to be an enemy.

“The fact that we don’t know if this will last another week or several months is why we can’t give solid answers to the future,” Bolden added. “The only thing we do know is the longer the economy is shut down, the more this will test the strength of MOBs as an investment.”

 

Source: CPE

University Of South Florida Moving Forward With New Life Sciences Building

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The University of South Florida (USF) will be moving forward with construction of a new mixed-use lab and office project for the University of South Florida’s Research Park, located on USF’s campus in Tampa.

The total cost of the project is $42 million.

The three-story life sciences building will house 120,000 square feet of office and lab space within USF’s Research Park, complete with ground-floor retail and dining options. Designed by architecture firm Gensler, the expansion of the research park will strengthen the university’s life sciences and technology ecosystem. Upon the project’s completion estimated for fall 2021, the capacity of the research park will be expanded by more than 30 percent.

 

Source: School Construction News

Orlando Health Furthers Presence In Osceola County With The Purchase Of St. Cloud Medical Regional Center

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Orlando Health, a household name in the region’s health care community, which also opened a stand alone ER facility on Osceola Parkway in 2019, just completed its purchase of St. Cloud Regional Center.

Community Health Systems, St. Cloud Regional’s majority owner, announced that it signed an agreement to sell its ownership interest in the 84‑bed facility and its associated healthcare operations to a subsidiary of Orlando Health.

The purchase includes both St. Cloud Regional and St. Cloud Medical Group. The transaction is expected to close this summer.

“We’ve watched Orlando Health as they’ve grown and developed in their services for a larger region and we’re proud of our affiliation,” St. Cloud Regional CEO Brent Burish said. “St. Cloud Regional Medical Center is an important part of our community and our patients can continue to count on us to provide safe, quality care.”

Mr. Burish, who has been CEO of St. Cloud Regional for a little over six years, is credited for  large-scale growth and modernization at the hospital, as well as placing a large emphasis building community partnerships in the greater St. Cloud community.

It’s been a  year of positive headlines for the St. Cloud Regional Medical Center, which is set to open its new 50,000 square foot, two-story addition of space for primary care, specialist offices, a walk-in clinic and retail pharmacy this summer.

Orlando Health is a not-for-profit healthcare organization with $5.6 billion of assets under management, with nearly 450 locations across nine Florida counties. That includes 13 wholly-owned or affiliated hospitals and emergency departments; rehabilitation services, cancer centers, heart institutes, imaging and laboratory services, wound care centers, more than 300 physician offices for adults and pediatrics, and 11 partnered urgent care centers.

In fiscal 2018, Orlando Health served approximately 167,000 inpatients, more than 2.7 million outpatients, and more than 20,000 international patients. The highly respected organization has the area’s only Level One Trauma Centers for adults and pediatrics, and its teaching hospital system offers both specialty and community hospitals. Nearly 3,600 physicians have privileges across the system, and is one of Central Florida’s largest employers with nearly 20,500 employees.

Orlando Health provides more than $620 million in total value to the community in the form of charity care, community benefit programs and services, community building activities and more.

 

Source: Positively Osceola