Columbia Construction and Steffian Bradley Architects Break Ground For Healthfirst Family Care Center

Skanska USA serving as Owner’s Project Manager

FALL RIVER, Mass. – Columbia Construction Company and Steffian Bradley Architects (SBA) broke ground on a 78,000 sf community health center for HealthFirst in Fall River, Mass. The scope includes the gut renovation of an existing single-story building, with a mezzanine. The health center’s future home – located at 387 Quarry Street – was formerly owned by Quaker Manufacturing, which is located less than a quarter of a mile away from its current location.

“This once-in-a-lifetime renovation opportunity will provide HealthFirst Family Care Center’s patients and staff with a state-of-the-art healthcare facility.  We are proud of our selection of Skanska USA, Columbia Construction, and Steffian Bradley Architects – all experts in their field –  to successfully guide us. Their commitment to our mission of service to the residents of the Greater Fall River community and their desire for project excellence is outstanding, stated HealthFirst’s CEO, Julie Almond.”

SBA’s design will create an open spacious feeling by bringing natural light and landscaping into the interior of the building. The exterior of the building will be renovated to create a fresh image for HealthFirst. The new health center will embody the patient-focused care HealthFirst already provides, creating a superior healing environment for the Greater Fall River community. The building’s large floor plate also offers expansion space for future use.

HealthFirst Family Care Center is being designed and built as an environmentally friendly and energy efficient facility, and will provide improved patient flow and ample parking.

This project has been made possible by an $11.5M grant from the Facility ??????? Investment Program under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of pokie machine 2009. The estimated construction cost of HealthFirst’s expansion project is $8,000,000. The new location allows HealthFirst to consolidate and expand their services in a contemporary setting that meets current healthcare standards. The health center currently serves approximately 6,000 plus patients per year in their cramped 10,000 sf facility located at 102 County Street. In their new space, the number of medical exam rooms will increase from 13 to 26 27 and the slots online number of dental operatories will grow from five 5 to nine9. As kasyna a result of their new and expanded facility, HealthFirst expects to see an additional 6,000 patients per year for a total of more than 17,000 visits.

The plan is to use about 40,000 sf for the health center’s needs. Reserve 5,000 sf for future expansion.  HealthFirst will lease the remaining space to community partners, such as Saint Anne’s Hospital, Southcoast Hospitals Group and National Physical Therapy, to provide specialty services. These partnerships will improve the accessibility of health care by making specialties such as cardiology, podiatry, ophthalmology, X-ray and expanded laboratory services available  under one roof.

There will also be a pharmacy located in the building operated by Pharmacist, Tom Cory, of Standard Pharmacy.

The health center is scheduled for completion in December 2011. Additional team members include Thompson Consultants, Inc., as the MEP Engineer; and Goldstein-Milano LLC, as the Structural Engineer.

About Columbia Construction Company
Drawing on 85 years of experience, Columbia Construction provides construction management services throughout New England. Its primary goal is to serve as a construction partner to clients and to provide them with innovative solutions. Columbia’s work is focused within the Healthcare, Life Sciences, Corporate, Commercial, Academic, Hospitality, and Senior Living market sectors. For more information, please visit www.columbiacc.com.

About Steffian Bradley Architects
Established in Boston in 1932, SBA works with clients in North America, Europe, and Asia from our offices in the United States, United Kingdom, Spain and China. The firm includes experts in architecture, interiors, planning, lighting and urban design, and work with clients in the healthcare, education, residential, senior living, and corporate and commercial markets.  For more information, visit http://www.steffian.com.