By DAILY PRESS STAFF
MID-CITY The medical hub surrounding the new and improved UCLA Medical Center and Orthopaedic Hospital is about to get busier.
The Arnon Development Group recently purchased a 30,000-square-foot parcel of land on 16th Street, a piece of real estate that is slated to become an outpatient medical center. The site is located across the street from the UCLA Medical Center, which is currently undergoing construction.
A cluster of vacant residences and a parking lot currently occupy the space.
The developer is planning to erect a 50,000-square-foot state-of-the-art medical center that will include subterranean parking. The center, which will be designed by architect Eric Shen, is expected to break ground in the spring of 2009 and be completed about a year later. The development group is currently in the process of finishing up the Parnell Medical Plaza, a facility located on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Los Angeles.
The new facility will reportedly feature surgery capabilities as well as a clinical laboratory.
Representatives with Arnon Development Group did not return a request seeking comment on Tuesday.
The $13.25 million deal was brokered by Gary Weiss and John Mudgett of Madison Partners, which announced the deal on Feb. 6. “There is a lack of large-scale medical office facilities on the Westside of Los Angeles, and available space is extremely rare,” Weiss said in a statement earlier this month, noting that rents exceed $4.50 a square foot. “This is an excellent time to build, when competition is virtually nonexistent, and demand is continuing to rise.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 20, 2008. Read the original PDF.