Construction to Start on Dignity Health’s $30 Million Building in Citrus Heights
Thursday, October 5th 2017
Construction is slated to begin next week on the new $30 million Dignity Health medical office building in Citrus Heights. The 68,000-square-foot, three-story outpatient building near Greenback Lane and Fountain Square Drive, the former location of Citrus Heights’ City Hall, is meant to relieve pressure on Dignity’s medical office building at 6555 Coyle Ave. in Citrus Heights. Construction is slated to be completed by 2019.
The old structure will remain open after the new 7115 Greenback Lane building is open, but will focus primarily on surgical services, which will expand at that location, according to Kirk Davis, executive director of clinic operations for Dignity Health Medical Foundation.
Davis said the Coyle Avenue building provided services for around 5,000 patients in Citrus Heights last year. “We just need to expand services in a more central location with better parking and a newer building,” Davis said. “For the providers it’s great because it’s still very close to Mercy San Juan” Medical Center.
A groundbreaking for the building is scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday and construction on the currently vacant property will begin shortly thereafter, said Dignity Health spokeswoman Brooke Burgess.
The new building will include primary care non-surgical specialties with 50 providers, which includes physicians and nurse practitioners. In addition, there will be 120 additional support staff at the new building.
Davis said some of those positions will move from the Coyle Avenue building. Others will be new hires.
Additional services will include family practice, internal medicine, pediatrics, pain management, dermatology, allergy, geriatrics and ophthalmology.
During the planning phase of the project, around 2014, some local residents expressed concerns because they wanted the old city hall building to remain.
The new project was eventually approved by city officials, however, and the old city hall building was razed to make way for Dignity Health’s building.
Burgess said hospital officials met with community members to incorporate their feedback into the project. For example, rose bushes from the old city hall building will be replanted at the new building. “We’ve kept one of those roses and we’re going to plant it in a little area, so there is a little bit of heritage commemorating what used to be,” Davis said.
Plus, the existing palm trees at the site will stay put. “We know how important it is the work with the community during a new building project. We met with the community members, we listened to neighbor feedback and we’ve actually incorporated many of their suggestions into the final design, I think to a great result,” Burgess said
By Victor A. Patton