The Opportunity

Page Healthcare was introduced to the former CEO of J.C. Lewis Health Center, Mr. Brandon Wilson, in 2018. J.C. Lewis Health Center was in the process of determining where to relocate the main clinic site. The existing clinic lease was scheduled to expire in 16 months, so the health center needed to make decisions quickly to complete a study, finish the design, and renovate a building within the allowable schedule. J.C. Lewis Health acquired a vacant retail location on the campus edge of the Oglethorpe Mall in Savannah, Ga. The building once served as the Thompson Trophy Shop, and it was initially constructed as a flex retail/warehouse space with a few business offices. Page Healthcare was engaged after the building acquisition with the assistance of the original architect. Upon joining the team, we requested complete documentation on how the decision was reached to acquire the facility, and we also asked for documentation on the investigative study to determine that the building could be converted to accommodate an outpatient health program.

Our role included overall program management for a replacement facility where the target location was an existing building constructed in the early 80’s. The goal was to convert the existing building into an outpatient clinic, an adaptive reuse project. The project consisted of a single-story facility with approximately 14,051 sf. The engagement included a thorough understanding of the growth strategy, site investigative studies, construction testing, environmental review, programming validation, test-fit renderings, conceptual layout, design, probable construction cost development, and capital stack development. From the start of the engagement, we guided the client through reprogramming and a design strategy that included interior and exterior elements. With the understanding that the client’s financial resources were limited, we advised the client that the project be designed with expansion in mind, and we created two separate phases to achieve the maximum renovations with the available funds. The challenge was that the building was designed to be something other than an outpatient health center, so the plan required an intense renovation of the site utilities serving the building and structural upgrades to the superstructure of the building. We had to match the available budget with the probable program and scope to accommodate at least twelve exam rooms and four dental operatories. We had a phase two plan that included six more exams and two additional dental operatories.

Project Role:

Real Estate Development, Facility Programming, Grant Technical Assistance, Construction Administration

Results

Page Healthcare was able to lean on its experience in the adaptive reuse environment and created a strategy to maximize both the budget and the available space to improve utilities, strengthen the frame of the building, and increase the power capacity. With the shell building improvements, we could accommodate the following scope of services: Primary Care, Optometry, Pharmacy, Dentistry, Behavioral Health, Lab, and space for Administration, including auxiliary space for storage needs and building utilities. While we were under construction, J.C. Lewis Health received additional federal funding via a grant from HRSA to initiate phase two, and we opened the center with the whole program available to see more patients in the Savannah Community.