Other Peabody News:
Fitzgerald heads to New Hampshire for town manager job
Warning label handed to PVMHS
70 Endicott could be kept as open space
Children's Hospital announces new location in Centennial Park
by John Castelluccio
PEABODY — The Children’s Hospital Boston officially announced
its plans to open a satellite location in the Centennial Industrial Park in
a press release last Friday, confirming a report last week of the hospital’s
purchase of a building there.
City officials had informed reporters that the world-renowned pediatric
care institution was in the process of establishing a medical center in Peabody,
but declined to say where until an official statement from the hospital was
released.
“There is increasing demand for subspecialty pediatric care from North
Shore families, and 10 Centennial Drive provides a great location and space
for us to respond to that demand,” said hospital CEO James Mandell M.D.
in the press release. He added that it’s a convenient location for patients
and families and frees up space at the Boston location for the most critical
cases.
On Oct. 30, Children’s Extended Care Center Inc. purchased the property,
which sits on 26 acres of land, from Intercontinental Fund III for $46.5 million.
The sale generated $212,040 in state excise taxes, according to the Southern
Essex Registry of Deeds.
Michelle Davis, vice president of Public Affairs for the hospital, said
the building will continue to serve as a technology mall with the new medical
center occupying an 80,000 square foot space. There are currently seven tenants
under long-term leases, which the hospital intends to honor, she said, and
the hospital plans to upgrade its space and put on a 40,000 square foot addition.
That will depend on the general economic climate and the hospital’s
ability to access credit, however, she said.
The hospital has leased space from Lahey Clinic for 10 years that has served
as an outpatient clinic with 11 employees and 15,000 visitors each year, which
makes for “extremely cramped” conditions, Davis said – the
hospital aims to move those diagnostic and pediatric specialty services over
to Centennial Drive and eventually expand on those as well to meet patients’ needs.
“Patients will receive the same high-quality care from…clinicians
that they receive in Boston, but in a location more convenient to their homes,” Mandell
said.
The move will not be immediate, but Davis said they hope to have the renovations
complete before the lease with Lahey expires in March 2011 to ensure a seamless
transition for patients.
“The city of Peabody is thrilled to have Children’s Hospital join
the emerging medical mecca that Centennial Business Park is becoming,” Mayor
Michael Bonfanti said in the press release.
In addition to the growing number of medical businesses in the park, Bonfanti
said on Monday that the concurrent development of state-of-the-art medical
facilities in surrounding communities add to that “mecca,” such
as the new Mass. General Hospital set to open near the Liberty Tree Mall in
Danvers. “Once you get a bunch of related organizations that come in,
others come in [too],” he said.
He says another major bonus of the Peabody project is that it will create
300-350 jobs, which hospital administrators expect in the areas of project
construction, healthcare and support services. Bonfanti said those people
would then likely patronize local businesses.
While the non-profit institution won’t be paying real estate taxes,
Davis said, the upgrades to its portion of the building will increase the
overall value, which would affect the taxes that its tenants will pay to the
city. She said the hospital’s branch in Waltham has a similar arrangement
with the city, although the Boston location does make payments to the city. |
