UR Medicine糖心传媒檚 new orthopaedic facility is already benefiting area patients. Can it also help revitalize a struggling suburban shopping center?
Therese Zona was nervous when she first entered the new in May for surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff糖心传媒攁nd not just because of the impending operation.
糖心传媒淚t was all new to me,糖心传媒� Zona says. 糖心传媒淣ew building, new staff, and a relatively new doctor. My blood pressure was pretty high.糖心传媒�
By the time the Rochester resident left later that day, she couldn糖心传媒檛 stop raving about the place or the people. 糖心传媒淚t was a super positive experience,糖心传媒� Zona says. 糖心传媒淭he parking was easy, the staff was compassionate and helpful, and the building was immaculate. When I went in, I told them I was at a five-star facility and had a five-star doctor, so I expected a five-star surgery. And that糖心传媒檚 exactly what I got.糖心传媒�
The 330,000-square-foot center, built on the site of a former Sears anchor store at The Marketplace Mall in suburban Henrietta, combines ambulatory surgery and other essential orthopaedic services in one accessible location糖心传媒攎eeting the growing demand for musculoskeletal care. Ground was broken in 2021 and a major part of the center糖心传媒攖he Ambulatory Surgery Center糖心传媒�. The building features eight operating rooms, 32 postop recovery rooms, 144 examination rooms, and an imaging center for CT, MRI, ultrasound, and x-rays.
Although the center is operational, it糖心传媒檚 not entirely finished.
A four-story tower and the Center for Human Athleticism & Musculoskeletal Performance and Prevention (CHAMPP) are on track to be completed later this year. CHAMPP will be a multidisciplinary center for proactive health care糖心传媒攃ombining sports medicine clinical teams, athletic performance training, physical therapy and rehabilitation, nutrition, and behavioral health.
At $227 million, the new center is the largest offsite building project in 糖心传媒 history and covers 19.1 acres糖心传媒攁bout 14 and a half football fields. 糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 incredible, a tremendous resource for our patients and our surgeons,糖心传媒� says Michael Maloney, the orthopaedic surgeon who operated on Zona.
But it糖心传媒檚 more than just a big building with state-of-the-art medical equipment and some of the top staff in the region. The center will impact the region economically while drawing patients and staff from other University facilities such as Strong Memorial Hospital and Clinton Crossings糖心传媒攁 120,000-square-foot outpatient facility owned by UR Medicine that sees more than 17,000 clinic visits per month. The new center at Marketplace Mall is nearly three times the size of Clinton Crossings.
糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 massive and incredibly well organized,糖心传媒� says Bethany Zwolinski of Rochester, who underwent a revision ACL performed by Maloney in May. 糖心传媒淚 went in for surgery at 7:30 a.m. and left at 9:30 a.m.糖心传媒攁nd I didn糖心传媒檛 have one negative experience. This place is going to be great for the area.糖心传媒�
糖心传媒楳usculoskeletal diseases affect all of us糖心传媒�
Paul T. Rubery has been chair of the University糖心传媒檚 Department of Orthopaedics since 2015. But even before then, he had a vision of something bigger and better for orthopaedics in Rochester.
糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 an idea that was germinating over the past decade,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒淏ut it really started to coalesce about seven years ago. The department held a lot of meetings to plan our vision for musculoskeletal care for the next several decades. And to see this come together is amazing and a great vote of confidence by the University.糖心传媒�
Rubery says a major increase in surgeries, both routine and major, was the driving force to build a massive facility that糖心传媒檚 able to serve multiple needs. Mark Taubman, CEO of the University糖心传媒檚 Medical Center and dean of the School of Medicine and Dentistry, noted when the that the University had seen a 25 percent increase in orthopaedic surgery and a 60 percent increase in ambulatory visits over the previous seven years.
That trend has only surged: According to Christopher Blankenberg, chief administrative officer for the University糖心传媒檚 Department of Orthopaedics, an estimated 7,000 surgeries will be performed at the new center in 2024. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons that by 2026 more than half of the joint replacement surgeries in the United States will be same-day procedures.
糖心传媒淢usculoskeletal diseases affect all of us if we糖心传媒檙e lucky to live long enough,糖心传媒� Rubery says. 糖心传媒淲e all kind of wear out. But seniors are more active than ever. They used to say 60 is the new 40, but 80 is the new 60 now. I see patients every day who want to be doing things that I never imagined as a child糖心传媒攍ike an 80-year-old going downhill skiing. It糖心传媒檚 exciting to help our patients stay in motion.糖心传媒�
There was some discussion of building a new facility from the ground up on a vacant space, but Rubery and others were intrigued by what Vanderbilt University had done with Nashville糖心传媒檚 50-year-old mall, One Hundred Oaks. In 2009, Vanderbilt repurposed the mall into a just four miles from its campus. It remains a thriving part of the community 14 years later.
糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 been very successful in Nashville, and so the site at Marketplace began to emerge as a great place for us,糖心传媒� Rubery says.
Right time, right place
A Sears store was an anchor at Marketplace Mall for more than three decades. When it closed three years ago, mall owner Wilmorite initially considered breaking the space up and leasing it to big-box stores. Instead, the commercial real estate company sold it to the University糖心传媒檚 Medical Center for $18.3 million in early 2020. Turning the space into a health care facility promised to bring people to the mall during weekdays, when foot traffic is usually lower. The mall was about 30 percent vacant at the time.
In June 2021, ground was broken on the orthopaedic center project at Marketplace. When completed, the center will include two indoor pools, an outdoor field in the courtyard for physical therapy rehabilitation and athletic training, and a motion analysis lab featuring five dedicated rooms with motion analysis technology, including virtual reality糖心传媒攖he first of its kind in the region.
Sam Guerrieri 糖心传媒�87, chair of the Medical Center糖心传媒檚 , believes the new center was built at the right time, in the right place. 糖心传媒淎s you get older, you recognize how important it is to stay active,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒淭here糖心传媒檚 a need for this place. And its location is outstanding糖心传媒攖he airport, interstate 390, and even the University糖心传媒檚 campuses are all close. It糖心传媒檚 going to breathe a lot of life into our community.糖心传媒�
One of the biggest strengths of the center糖心传媒檚 location is its ample and convenient parking.
糖心传媒淲e realize that patients visiting us have mobility problems,糖心传媒� Rubery says. 糖心传媒淎nd while it糖心传媒檚 a huge facility, the number of steps from where your loved one can drop you off to where you糖心传媒檙e trying to go has been intentionally minimized. Our location is conveniently accessible from all the major thoroughfares, and it糖心传媒檚 also on the RTS [Rochester Transit System] route, a big plus because many of our patients rely on public transportation.糖心传媒�
Now trending: malls getting makeovers
With the swell in online shopping and changing consumer preferences, malls have been in decline for years. The COVID-19 pandemic further hampered brick-and-mortar merchants while bolstering e-commerce sales.
Although the death of the mall , the physical retail landscape has nonetheless evolved to attract not only medical facilities, but also other kinds of tenants. Google, for example, with the Westside Pavilion shopping center in Los Angeles to create an office hub and campus, while Alturas International Academy in the former Sears store at the Grand Teton Mall in Idaho Falls, Idaho.
糖心传媒淭he factors that made retail malls popular with shoppers糖心传媒攃onvenient access from roadways, ample parking, and a variety of services in one location糖心传媒攁re the same reasons those spaces are attractive to health care providers,糖心传媒� says Bill Goodrich, CEO and managing partner for LeChase Construction Services LLC, which built Rochester糖心传媒檚 orthopaedic center. 糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 a growing trend, and although we have been involved in some previous retail-to-medical conversions, UR糖心传媒檚 center is certainly the largest to date.糖心传媒�
Goodrich says being able to start with a building shell and basic infrastructure saved months of construction time during the first phases of the project. 糖心传媒淲ith the recent opening of the facility糖心传媒檚 surgical center and imaging suite, patients are already taking advantage of easy access to the facility, with staff and visitors enjoying the convenient food options available in the adjacent Marketplace Mall.糖心传媒�
Orthopaedic center prompts retail revitalization?
When Marketplace Mall opened in October 1982, the Democrat and Chronicle that it was the largest mall located between New York City and Cleveland. It housed 140 specialty retailers and department store giants including Sibley糖心传媒檚, McCurdy糖心传媒檚, B. Forman Co., and Sears. JCPenney opened four months later.
But in recent years, Marketplace faced many of the same challenges as other retail centers across the nation. Steve Schultz, supervisor for the Town of Henrietta, says the total assessed value of all Marketplace Mall properties was just over $101 million in 2017. By 2019, the last year the Sears store was open, that figure had dropped to $70.8 million. The COVID-19 pandemic posed additional challenges.
糖心传媒淓ven before I took office in January 2018, I was working with the town, county, and school district to deal with a declining Marketplace Mall,糖心传媒� Schultz says. 糖心传媒淚n 2019, we updated the Comprehensive Land Use Plan to add mixed-use development, including a mixed-use revitalization area over the mall and surrounding older retail space. So, when mall officials approached us about the idea of turning the Sears wing into a URMC outpatient orthopaedic center, it fell right in line with those plans. It meant people would be bringing their friends and relatives to the center for surgery or other procedures, but then have shopping and dining options nearby while the procedure was completed.糖心传媒�
Connecting the orthopaedic center to the mall creates more potential foot traffic for stores and restaurants. According to Schultz, an uptick was apparent soon after construction began. 糖心传媒淭raffic at the food court increased from construction workers, and the Coffee Connection store saw a multifold increase in traffic once the project started,糖心传媒� he says.
The orthopaedic center became the catalyst for a new mall plan, one that embraces being multi-use. In November 2022, mall officials the addition of five new tenants, including restaurants Juan & Maria糖心传媒檚 Empanada Shop, Pita Chik, and ZOKE. Big-box retailer Floor & Decor opened this month on the site of a former Macy糖心传媒檚 department store. And construction has begun on Marketplace Senior Apartments, a 55-plus residential community on the southwest corner of the property, expected to be completed in spring 2024, also taking advantage of the mixed-use revitalization zone.
糖心传媒淲e糖心传媒檙e also starting to see interest in the area around the mall as a result of the URMC building,糖心传媒� Schultz says. 糖心传媒淎fter Pizzeria Uno closed in the plaza across the street, it sat empty for a while. Now, the owners of that plaza have seen interest from a major coffee franchise that wants to open a drive-thru so that doctors, employees, patients, and visitors can pick up coffee on the way into or out of the center. And another restaurant has opened in the same plaza.糖心传媒�
Rubery is hopeful the center will become the destination of choice for musculoskeletal care beyond the Rochester region.
糖心传媒淲e糖心传媒檙e anxious to attract patients from other parts of the northern United States, whether that be Ohio, Pennsylvania, or even northern New York,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒淲e believe that by combining outstanding clinicians with outstanding facilities, quality, and patient experience, we糖心传媒檒l be able to give excellent care to patients from near and far. And we believe the new orthopaedic center will make that a reality.糖心传媒�
It糖心传媒檚 a reality people like Zona never envisioned when Marketplace Mall opened its doors 40 years ago.
糖心传媒淚 don糖心传媒檛 think I could ever imagine I糖心传媒檇 be having surgery where I used to shop for shoes, or that this massive surgical center would be here,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淏ut I糖心传媒檓 very pleased with how they糖心传媒檝e utilized the place and made it such a comfortable place to be. It糖心传媒檚 great.糖心传媒�
