An eight-storey office building proposed for a site north of the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre should have a strong medical flavour.
Sherry White, who is one of the project’s managers, said letters of intent have been received from a number of prospective tenants who are in health-related professions. These include general practice doctors, with a walk-in clinic probable.
Red Deer’s six orthopedic surgeons previously announced plans to share space in the building, which will be located at 5156 43rd St. and called Skyway Professional Centre. The Central Alberta Hip and Knee Clinic is expected to move into the centre, and White said X-ray facilities and a cast clinic are planned as well.
“What we would like to do is attract additional specialists,” she said, explaining that a concentration of health professionals and businesses would support and benefit each other.
“We’ve had lots of interest from pharmacies,” added White.
The building’s proximity to the hospital makes it desirable for medical uses, she said. In fact, a pedway link to the hospital is contemplated and might be developed during construction.
Skyway Professional Centre, which would contain more than 112,000 square feet, has been engineered so that four more floors could be added in the future, said White.
Construction tenders have gone out, with work expected to begin this summer. That would include demolition of the former Central Alberta Florists building, which currently occupies the lot.
White said construction should wrap up by the fall of 2011. She added that the cost of the project will become clearer after the tendering process.
However, when Red Deer’s municipal planning commission approved the site plan last August, the budget was estimated at $40 million.
Timcon Construction (1988) Ltd. is the general contractor, and White said previously that a group of local investors are behind the project.
An information session on Skyway Professional Centre is planned for the future. For details, call 403-588-4050.
hrichards@www.reddeeradvocate.com