Liberty Township sees medical campus and hospital expansion
LIBERTY TWP. – A $23.3 million medical campus is part of the updated plan for the Freedom Pointe development near Costco.
“What we’re proposing is a 31,000-square-foot medical campus anchored by a highly specialized surgery center,” said Jackson Samples, an associate with Prime Healthcare Properties.
The campus would initially have a 15,000-square-foot surgery center and a 16,000-square-foot medical office building, Samples said. Drawings also show space for a second medical office building if needed.
The medical campus is part of the 88.6-acre Freedom Pointe site on the east side of Cox Road, north of Liberty Way, near Liberty Center, Voice of America Park and The Christ Hospital Medical Center.
“We’ve got a more complete package,’’ developer Dan Wheeler said of revised plans for the medical campus project, first approved two years ago. “We’re at a spot right now where this is no longer just a fictitious plan. It’s got a lot of real meat to it. We’ve got people that are actually coming up and signing contracts and are ready to build.”
Since the project was approved, an Affiliates in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery office and Costco have opened. The 419 Relay 129 apartments and townhouses are under construction.
ProScan Imaging is awaiting final permit approval, has signed with a general contractor and expects to break ground in the next two or three weeks, Wheeler said.
Developers are in discussion with a hotel provider. There may be the potential to convert one of the buildings to condominium-style offices which could house dentists, accountants, attorneys, and other medical users.
The recently approved modified plan for the project shows a decrease in square footage, largely because two- and three-story buildings are being reduced to single-story buildings, Wheeler said. “All local real estate reports are saying that second and third and multi-story office space – whether it’s medical or office – is where most of the vacancies are lying,” Wheeler said.
Trustee Todd Minniear said the changes to the project should move the project forward.
“We’re starting to fill out the place a little,” Minniear said. “That momentum will continue by right-sizing the office buildings in a way that will make them more marketable.”
Other updates
The Christ Hospital Medical Center has broken ground on a 17,800-square-foot expansion. The nearly $20 million project is already underway and is expected to be complete by late summer 2024. The additions will expand state-of-the-art imaging services for cardiovascular care, oncology and women’s health in the northern suburbs of Cincinnati. The Christ Hospital Health Network has partnered with Champlin Architecture, CMTA Engineering, Schaefer, Bayer Becker and Danis Construction Company to complete the project.
Heartland Dental’s final plat is being reviewed and the property is expected to be closed in the next two weeks.
The El Rancho Grande restaurant is under contract.
A retail strip center is under contract but plans haven’t been finalized.
A 3,000-square-foot Stockyards Bank and Trust is planned for a building originally earmarked for restaurant use.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Liberty Township sees medical campus and hospital expansion
