Carle, Christie Clinc getting ready to show off new buildings

Dec. 24—DANVILLE — Carle and Christie Clinic officials are excited about Carle at the Riverfront and Christie Clinic at the Riverfront in Danville and are getting ready to show off their buildings next year.

The new Christie Clinic at the Riverfront will start seeing patients at the end of January. The new Carle at the Riverfront is expected to start seeing patients in February.

An open house for the public to view the new Carle at the Riverfront medical facility and learn about services will be on Feb. 9. Times for the open house will be announced later.

"We're just putting the finishing touches on there over the next few weeks, month," said Nick Crompton, executive director for facilities, construction and planning with Carle.

Carle will begin moving furniture and equipment into the building in January, Crompton said.

Across the property, Christie Clinic at the Riverfront also will start moving into its new one-story building in January.

Christie Clinic Clinical Services Manager Tara Hafner said, "At the beginning of 2023, we will open Christie Clinic at the Riverfront and consolidate all current Danville services including primary care and cardiology, convenient care, dermatology, dietitian, foot and ankle surgery, general surgery, laboratory, nephrology, orthopedics and sports medicine, pain and rehabilitation, physical therapy, radiology and vein and vascular departments into the new 20,000-square-foot medical office facility."

"At the end of January, providers relocating from Christie Clinic in Danville on Vermilion will begin seeing patients at Christie Clinic at the Riverfront. By mid-February, providers from Christie Clinic in Danville on Logan will move to the new facility. We look forward to expanding our offices to better serve our Vermilion County patients," Hafner said.

The new medical building, 108 Robinson St., will double the size of Christie Clinic's existing North Vermilion Street location.

There's lots of activity wrapping up on the riverfront project, and they're proud of the progress, Crompton said.

Some remaining site work for Carle at the Riverfront includes landscaping, concrete work and finishing up the parking lot and driving lanes.

The city of Danville also is working on some streets around the project.

Inside the building, there are finishing touches being completed, such as paint touchups and other work, Crompton added.

He said they're working toward their final inspection with the city to then start moving furniture in.

Patients could start seeing their providers in the new building by mid-February.

Crompton said moving staff and departments into the building will be a phased approach over a couple months.

"There's a lot of services to move over," he said, from the Carle sites on Vermilion and Fairchild streets.

Crompton said patients at the new building will first be greeted by entrance service staff with smiles on their faces, welcoming them into the new building.

There also will be kiosks in the front to help expedite check-ins. Team members will be available to help patients get through the process quickly, Crompton said.

He describes the building as having a warm, calming environment with its colors, materials, furniture and artwork.

From an accessibility standpoint, that was one of the big drivers of construction in having a more accessible clinic, he said, adding that the size of exam rooms and other areas are to be more accessible for patients and visitors.

"Efficient care is a big one," Crompton said about meeting patients' needs. They may have to go up a floor or down a floor for whatever their needs are.

Carle is expanding its convenient care into a larger space, having more rooms to see patients.

"There's a lot of exciting things people will see," Crompton said of the site, landscaping and design of the facility.

Construction should be completed for an opening in summer 2023 on the two buildings at the northwest corner of Gilbert and North streets. The eastern building will house Carle Medical Supply and a Sleep Lab and the southern building is for leasable retail space.

Crompton said there are more challenges than ever with construction right now, including supply chain issues, but they have good teams on the project.

He said they are actively marketing the one building to lease, such as for a restaurant. There will be a little courtyard between the two buildings.

"It will be a nice tie for the campus," he said about the properties tying in together.

"We're really excited about it. We've been working on this for a while," Crompton said, of the clinical team and operations. "Coming to this stage is exciting."

The approximately $70 million Carle at the Riverfront will consolidate services now at Carle Danville on Fairchild Street and Carle Danville on Vermilion Street. It will host more than 250 staff.

Carle at the Riverfront will consist of medical offices and an ambulatory surgery center on more than 152,000 square feet and 17 acres of land.