Walnut Creek, CA
1221 Rossmoor Parkway, Walnut Creek, CA 94595
PHOTO GALLERY
Meridian converts abandoned 1960 Post Office into 8,500 SF OSHPD III outpatient medical clinic
Meridian was hired to develop a +8,500 SF medical office building that would provide life-saving dialysis treatment to patients in the Rossmoor community of Walnut Creek. Meridian quickly found that this particular area of the desirable Walnut Creek market was extremely tight with low vacancy and little available land. Meridian identified a vacant post office built in 1960 that could be renovated to fit the needs of the client, but not without providing some challenges of its own. Meridian worked closely with a seasoned group of professionals to deliver a state of the art facility on time and on budget, which is now open for business and providing critical treatment to the members of the community.
CHALLENGES
Meridian’s client, DaVita, Inc. desired to build a second dialysis clinic in the highly sought-after Walnut Creek, CA market. Specifically, DaVita wanted a clinic in Walnut Creek that would be located between patients living in the retirement neighborhood of Rossmoor and the Walnut Creek Kaiser Permanente offices. In addition to the specific location, DaVita required the clinic to have the following characteristics: on grade, ample parking, large open area for a treatment floor, 16’ clearance height, highly visible, easy access, and at a competitive lease rate.
This requirement came to Meridian in an incredibly tight market with low vacancy, and an almost nonexistent commercial land supply. The architecture and design of the building would have to align within current architectural design guidelines previously approved by the City of Walnut Creek. Meridian felt the best course of action would be to find an existing building that could be retrofitted into the 8500 SF dialysis clinic.
SOLUTIONS
Meridian worked with its broker, Colliers, to identify available space that would meet the requirements. After an exhaustive search, only one building was possible – a vacant 1960 post office in a Safeway adjacent parcel. The Seller wanted a premium for the old building which translated into a lease rate that would exceed DaVita’s budget. Meridian got creative and offered the Seller the opportunity to own the building upon completion at a compelling price and they agreed to sell at a price that created an affordable rent. Once the real estate deal was structured, the task of entitling a medical clinic in a retail setting, and renovating a very old building to meet today’s healthcare requirements began. Meridian teamed up with a seasoned group of professionals with experience in retail & medical renovations. Despite some initial neighborhood opposition, tough entitlements and challenging construction, Meridian was able to deliver a facility that exceeded the tenant's expectations on budget and on schedule.
RESULTS
The project transformed a dated and abandoned post office into a beautiful state of the art medical clinic that will be used by the surrounding community. Some of the design challenges included upgrading the roof, walls, and columns to current seismic and OSHPD 3 standards, and overcoming many major unforeseen structural conditions such as missing grade beams and column connections. Meridian also removed the existing slab inside the building, fixed the sub-grade and drainage issues, and poured new slab. In addition, Meridian held numerous neighborhood outreach meetings and hired an acoustic engineer to decrease noise coming from the building. The end result was an elaborate split HVAC system, where there was a separate HVAC enclosure at grade level and no motorized equipment on the roof. Despite the inherent challenges in estimating and completing renovations on an old building, Meridian came in at budget by working closely with the project team and tenant to creatively solve these challenges.