Medical office building planned near Presbyterian Santa Fe Medical Center
Jun. 14—A three-story, 95,000-square-foot medical office building is being proposed for 18 undeveloped acres at 4000 Beckner Road.
The location is on the south side of the street between Beckner and Interstate 25, across from the Las Soleras neighborhood at the Walking Rain Road roundabout.
Developer Meridian Property Co. of Walnut Creek, Calif., held a city-mandated Early Neighborhood Notification meeting Thursday on Zoom.
Meridian is under contract to acquire 18.03 acres, but the medical office will occupy only about 9 acres in the middle. No plan is in place for the remaining acreage, but more commercial development could come later, said Brian Nenninger, the Santa Fe-based representative for Meridian's owners.
Nenninger said Meridian has had initial conversations with nearby Presbyterian Santa Fe Medical Center about potentially housing doctors affiliated with the south-side hospital. Presbyterian did not address the discussions in an email response to New Mexican questions.
"When we opened this facility, we envisioned that the Presbyterian Santa Fe Medical Center campus would be a hub for health care services in the area and so we are very pleased to see this additional investment proposed for our community," Presbyterian Santa Fe CEO Jon Wade said in an email. "This new facility is being planned as an independent facility with multiple specialties. We hope that Santa Fe Medical Center will be able to partner with these providers and care for these patients at our facility. We look forward to learning more details as the project plans continue."
Nenninger said Meridian anticipates a September or October meeting with the Santa Fe Planning Commission for approval of its development plan. The desire is to start construction in the second quarter of 2023 and potentially open in late 2024.
"They are still programming the interior of the building," Nenninger said. "They are in the very early stages of planning."
Meridian Property Co. is a fully owned subsidiary of Marcus & Millichap, the Calabasas, Calif.-based real estate investment, sales and development company. Meridian focuses primarily on medical office buildings.
The Santa Fe project is among the larger projects listed online in the Meridian portfolio of 55 projects.
Nearly all are in California, along with four in Phoenix; Tucson, Ariz.; Las Vegas, Nev.; and Maine. Meridian acquired a vacant medical building in Phoenix, is renovating portions of an existing Tucson medical center and is building a small urgent care center in Las Vegas.
Many of the California projects are conversions of existing office buildings into medical office facilities.
"In California, Meridian has carved out a little niche. ... It's a way to fast-track medical office buildings," Nenninger said.
Meridian also builds medical office structures.
"They determined there is enough patient demand in Northern New Mexico to support a project that size," Nenninger said of the Beckner Road proposal. "The project aims to provide greater access for care at an affordable price."
