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Boynton Beach Mall Redevelopment Plan Chops Retail, Adds Housing And Offices, Including 65,000 Square Feet Of Medical

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A plan to redevelop Boynton Beach Mall by owner Washington Prime Group was revealed this week and it halves retail space at the 34-year-old mall, adding multi-family housing, a hotel, and offices.

The master plan and rezoning request for the 116-acre site was filed with the Boynton Beach City Commission, which gave initial approval, but meets again on the plans Jan. 21.

The redeveloped mall would include a 400-room hotel, 65,000 square feet each of medical office space, and general office space, and 35,000 of new restaurant space, according to the plan filed. The redevelopment would happen over five phases, with the first phase removing the former Sears buildings and adding a 400-unit apartment building accodring to Washington Prime.

The Boynton Beach Mall once had tenants including Burdines, JCPenney, Jordan Marsh and Lord & Taylor. But, like other malls facing less in-store shopping and an increase in online shopping by consumers, retail tenants have dwindled over the years, with new types of tenants coming in.

“According to city documents, 30 percent of the mall is now vacant, and its proposed redevelopment would not only stabilize it, but make it a desirable destination once again,” said Bonnie Miskel, a lawyer representing primary mall owner Washington Prime.

In its proposal for redevelopment, Washington Prime stated that the current use of the property as an aging mall is in steady decline as it no longer meets the needs of the community and is slowly becoming a source of blight in the city. Occupancy at the mall has dropped by 11.5 percent between 2015 and 2016, according to documents submitted to the city to justify rezoning.

The proposal would reduce the existing mall square footage for retail from 1,034,745 about 1 million square feet to 482,750 square feet, and build separate, mixed-use buildings with retail use on the 1st floor and residential units above. Developers also would add up to 1,420 residential apartments on the site, along the north end and southwest side of the mall property, and inside the new mixed-use buildings.

But some Boynton Beach residents expressed concerns on the NextDoor app about mounting traffic off Congress Avenue near the mall and that mall redevelopment plans didn’t seem to include any new entertainment venues for the community, such as a park, bowling alley or sports center.

“The redevelopment would include public spaces for events and retail space that could include experiential-type tenants,” Miskel told commissioners.

The plan doesn’t have an impact on Macy’s and JCPenney, the two major department stores remaining at the mall, which are owned separately, and Christ Fellowship Church, owner of a former Dillard’s department store space in the mall.

Boynton Beach Mall is not the only mall in South Florida looking to add residential housing. Apartments are planned at Coral Square Mall in Coral Springs and at the former Fashion Mall in Plantation.

 

Source: SunSentinel

Developer, USPI Break Ground On Tennessee Medical Office Building With Surgery Center

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Oman-GIbson Associates broke ground on a medical office building and ambulatory surgery center in Murfreesboro, Tenn., that will be owned by Dallas-based United Surgical Partners International, HC+ONews reported Dec. 22.

Upon completion the new facility will include 30,000 square feet of medical use space. (PHOTO CREDIT: Environments for Healthcare Architecture)

What you should know:

1. The entire development will be nearly 30,000 square feet with the ASC taking up more than 14,000 square feet.

2. The ASC will have two operating rooms and a procedure room. The rest of the square footage will be used for office space.

3. The developer expects to complete construction in June 2021.

 

Source: Becker’s ASC Review

Wellness Is Critical In Healthcare Investment

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Wellness is the biggest trend rocking the healthcare investment market today. It has become essential to bending the cost curve down, according to healthcare investor and developer Meridian’s John Pollock, and players in the product type should focus on wellness as a means of managing population health.

“Wellness is critical to help bend the cost curve down. Providers and payors have to embrace this mindset and focus on managing the health of the population,” Pollock, CEO of Meridian, tells GlobeSt.com in a recent interview about market trends. “I recently caught up with Ken Gorman, Founder and CEO of Power Wellness. It is clear that focusing on population health vis-a-vi wellness centers is trend that should continue and aligns with Meridian’s mission to help ‘bend the cost curve.’”

Wellness centers have evolved tremendously, and insurance companies are catching on the importance of these services.

“These centers have evolved over the years from small retail-based outlets that were referral only to what Ken calls “Gen 3 Wellness Centers” serve upwards of 6,000 community members and integrated into clinical care pathways,” says Pollock. “Payors are finally realizing that wellness is less expensive than treating chronic conditions and should be reimbursable under Medicare Advantage, most Accountable Care Organization and/or risk-based contracts.”

This is an important trend for both experienced and new players to not. The healthcare market has seen substantial increase in the capital players.

“There has been a lot of entrants into the healthcare real estate space over the past few years, particularly in the value-add space, and it is disconcerting,” says Pollock. “Often new operators don’t truly understand the dynamics of medical office and are at risk because the space is nuanced, users are very particular, and the correct tenant ecosystem is critical to an asset’s success.”

This has also pushed healthcare operators into outlying markets, and as a result, healthcare is expanding in nearly every metro across the country.

“With so much competition in the primary markets, some of my colleagues are seeing opportunities in secondary and tertiary markets where yields can be 100-150 bps higher than in primary markets for similar lease terms and credit profiles,” says Pollock. “At Meridian, for our investment business, we continue to focus on primary markets and look for the opportunities that others don’t see. We believe our unique lens allows us to see opportunities that leverage our core competencies that include entitlement prowess, a seasoned project management bench, intense asset management and access to flexible capital.”

 

Source: GlobeSt.