New Clermont Project With Restaurants, Shops, Medical/Office Space In The Works In Florida

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A 16-building, mixed-use project with roughly 100,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and medical/office space is in the works for a fast-growing Lake County corridor.

Winter Garden-based Schmid Construction Inc. is the applicant and developer behind the Cross Ridge Exchange project, to rise on 11.3 acres along U.S. Highway 27 in Clermont.

Schmid Construction Principal and CEO John Schmid confirmed to Orlando Business Journal that the firm has the land under contract from Lake Wales-based Lost Lake Reserve LC and will be the general contractor for the $14 million project.

Cross Ridge Exchange will rise nestled between an existing BJ’s Wholesale Club and Walmart Supercenter.

“That’s really the strength of the project,” Schmid said, referring to the location.

The development will feature at least 50,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space across nine buildings closest to U.S. 27, in addition to at least 39,000 square feet of medical/office space across eight buildings toward the property’s back end, along Cross Ridge Road.

Building sizes are not yet final, and Schmid said they are pursuing permission for up to 115,000 square feet to have some buffer if the project needs to be larger.

Cross Ridge Exchange was given approval from Clermont’s planning and zoning commission earlier this month and next will go before its city council for its conditional-use permit.

Schmid said site work may start within the next few months and the goal is for vertical construction to begin in the first quarter of next year, with an anticipated delivery by the end of 2023.

Schmid Construction will serve as general contractor, and subcontractor opportunities will be available. Opportunities for site work may be put out to bid within the next few months and construction opportunities should be put out to bid early next year.

Orlando-based First Capital Property Group is handling leasing for the development, with senior sales and leasing associate Trey Gravenstein telling OBJ it has attracted good activity and two letters of intent so far after going live July 27.

 

Source: OBJ

CVS Plans To Get Into Primary Care By The End of 2022

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CVS just said that it plans to acquire or take a stake in a primary-care company by the end of the year, as competition heats up with Amazon and Walgreens.

 “The company wants to team up with a provider that has a strong management team and tech background and the ability to grow quickly,” said CEO Karen Lynch on the company’s second-quarter earnings call

CVS, best known for its many drugstores, has touchpoints across the health-care industry. It has acquired insurer Aetna and pharmacy benefits manager Caremark. Customers can get vaccines or urgent care at MinuteClinic outposts inside of its stores. And the company keeps adding more health services to those locations, too — it recently introduced therapy for mental health at some stores.

CVS doesn’t yet have doctor offices where patients can go for an annual checkup or appointments with a physician or nurse practitioner, though.

“CVS wants to change that by buying or partnering with a company.” said Lynch at an investor day last year.

At the time, Dr. Alan Lotvin, executive vice president of CVS Health and president of CVS Caremark, said he envisioned CVS standing out in primary care. The company wants to offer longer hours at its doctor offices so people can visit as early as 6 a.m., as late as 9 p.m., or on the weekends. It also wants to utilize simple, streamlined tech, so customers don’t have to fill out piles of paperwork.

Other health-care players have already made moves in the space. Rival Walgreens Boots Alliance is opening hundreds of doctor offices in partnership with VillageMD and became the majority owner of the company. Walmart has a small, but growing number of clinics where people can visit a doctor, dentist or therapist for a low price.

Amazon ratcheted up pressure by announcing last month that it would acquire primary-care provider One Medical for about $3.9 billion. The boutique health-care company has 188 medical offices across 25 markets, according to its latest quarterly results.

“CVS has a competitive edge with the size of its business,” Lynch said. “Nearly 4.8 million customers interact with the company each day at CVS locations. MinuteClinic visits increased 12% in the second quarter. CVS can build from the strong foundation that we already have.”

 

Source: CNBC

Vanderbilt University Medical Center In Nashville Announces $500 Million Expansion With Plans For A 15-Story Tower On Hospital Campus

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Meteoric growth in Middle Tennessee is spurring plans for Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s newly announced $500 million expansion, which will put a new 15-story tower on the Nashville hospital campus.

Rendering of VUMC Tower (IMAGE CREDIT: VUMC)

VUMC CEO Jeff Balser tells Axios the region’s population boom coincided with an explosion of patient needs. Hospital capacity hovers above 90% most of the time.

“The demand for Vanderbilt’s services is at an all-time high,” Balser says. “In order to meet the demands of the region, we just need a lot more space.”

Why It Matters: VUMC is a top regional resource for complex medical care, including organ transplants and complicated cancer surgeries.

“The new tower will increase capacity for those kinds of specialized procedures,” Balser says.

  • It will go alongside 21st Avenue South and will become the hospital’s de facto front door.

By The Numbers: The tower will add about 180 inpatient beds and 10 operating rooms, along with radiology services, specialty clinics and office space. The project also includes an addition of three floors and 600 spaces to the central garage.

State Of Play: Construction is expected to begin this summer. Officials say it will take four-and-a-half years to complete.

Flashback: Hospital officials began planning for gradual expansion in the years before the pandemic, transitioning three floors in the Medical Center East building from clinic space to patient beds. When COVID-19 hit, these were quickly designated as ICU beds for pandemic patients.

“After COVID hospitalizations ticked down, demand in other areas increased to fill the void, leading officials to plot out a more ambitious expansion plan,” says Balser.

Zoom Out: Balser says the hospital project won’t slow VUMC’s growth in other sectors. VUMC’s network of regional hospitals and clinics is still expanding, too.

Talks remain underway to lease a portion of the Hickory Hollow Mall space for an Antioch health care site.

“VUMC remains very much engaged with the mayor’s team on that project,” says Balser.

 

Source: AXIOS Nashville