Health Center Rising in Brooklyn Cultural District

NEW YORK, N.Y. – The groundbreaking for the first major commercial building to join the Brooklyn Cultural District’s development boom, 620 Fulton St., was held on March 19. Architecture firm Francis Cauffman designed the building. Skanska USA is the construction manager.

The 12-story building is scheduled for completion in late 2016. It will include 180,000 square feet of healthcare, office and retail space, with an outdoor plaza connecting to other public spaces in the neighborhood. The project replaces a surface parking lot.

“The new building is part of the transformation of the Brooklyn Cultural District into a 24/7 community,” said James Crispino, AIA, NCARB, president and principal designer at Francis Cauffman. “It complements residential development in the district by adding a place where people can work, eat and shop. As designers, we are proud to help create an environment for multiple activities, anchored by a medical facility built to better serve patients.”

“The new Brooklyn Health Center is yet another great opportunity for our company to build what really matters to people in their communities,” said Tom Webb, executive vice president and general manager of Skanska USA Building’s Metro New York Office. “We are proud to be a part of lasting, sustainable growth solutions in the Fort Greene neighborhood and look forward to delivering a state-of-the art healthcare facility for the hotel union workers across the city.”

The healthcare provider serving the city hotel workers union will be the primary occupant, using five floors to house its Brooklyn Health Center.

Names of a major corporate tenant, retail tenants and the restaurant have not been announced.

Francis Cauffman designed 620 Fulton St. in a way that will give passersby changing impressions of the building from different vantage points. The building’s teardrop shape reflects the trapezoidal site. A textured glass façade will curve around the building, and a 12-story mural will cover the south-facing wall.

On the interior, the innovative health center layout will provide quality healthcare without the wait. There will be no waiting rooms. Patients will check in at kiosks, or with smartphones, and be assigned examination rooms. Medical teams will share a central workspace. Patients will see all doctors, nurses or staff needed for their care in the same examination room.

Prescriptions will be filled at an on-site pharmacy.

The goal is for 85 percent of patients to get medical care and fill their prescriptions in one hour or less.

“Our mission is to be the foremost provider of high quality healthcare in an environment distinguished by exceptional service. I believe the design of this facility will further our mission by providing a collaborative, patient-centric environment,” said Dr. Robert Greenspan, CEO of the New York Hotel Trades Council & Hotel Association of NYC, Inc. Employee Benefit Funds.