Medical Office Project Hits the Market

ATLANTA-Locally based Carter has completed phase I of its 7.5-acre Piedmont West project at 43% leased. The 264,000-square-foot medical office building was developed in conjunction with Piedmont Healthcare Inc., which occupies 91,000 square feet in the structure. The total cost of the building is about $90 million, Scott Taylor, president of Carter, tells GlobeSt.com. A second, 193,000-square-foot building with an estimated value in excess of $50 million, will be constructed based on market demand, he says.

The first completed building, located at 1800 Howell Mill Road off of Interstate 75, includes 9,000 square feet of retail space. Amenities include restricted physician-only parking, 24-hour security, a patient- and visitor-friendly lobby with instant-access computer terminals, Personal Information Displays, televisions and a café. Average net rental rates are in the $22 range with a tenant improvement allowance between $35 and $37 per square foot, says Taylor.

“The impetus for this building was a strategic initiative from Piedmont Healthcare to decompress their main hospital campus, which is two miles away,” reports Taylor. “As an attractive alternative for physicians and patients, we think the demand for the space over the long term will continue to be strong. Piedmont’s campus is 100% leased and most of the attached hospital medical office enjoy very high occupancy.”

Piedmont has created a center for outpatient services at the building including advanced diagnostic imaging, the Piedmont Cancer Center and multi-specialty outpatient surgery center. Other tenants in the building include a urology practice, which has leased 11,216 square feet, Atlanta Gastroenterology Associates, which occupies 6,164 square feet and the Atlanta Center for Reproductive Medicine, which leases 5,054 square feet. Most of those leases range from 10 to 15 year terms, says Taylor.