NexCore Group has broken ground on an 80,000 square foot medical office building (MOB) on the new Holy Cross Health hospital campus in Germantown, an unincorporated municipality located approximately 20 miles northeast of Bethesda, MD. Germantown is the third most populous place in Maryland, after Baltimore and Columbia.
“The medical office building on the Holy Cross Germantown Hospital campus is one of three outpatient care centers that NexCore is currently developing for CHE Trinity Health in different parts of the country,” says Jarrod Daddis, Executive Managing Director of Development at NexCore Group. “The Germantown medical office building is a unique facility because of its direct connection to the first new hospital in Montgomery County in 35 years, its location within a life sciences park, and its incorporation of LEED Silver building standards.”
The Holy Cross Germantown Hospital campus is located within the Hercules Pinkney Life Sciences Park on the Montgomery College campus, just east of I-270 between the Germantown Road and Middlebrook Road exits. Patients, physicians, and staff of the new hospital campus will be able to take advantage of the public transportation hub on the Montgomery College campus, which offers access to Metrobus and Metrorail lines.
Holy Cross Health and CHE Trinity Health
Holy Cross Health is a nonprofit, regional healthcare system with two hospitals (one of which is currently in development), over 3,200 employees and 1,200 affiliated physicians. The system serves approximately 200,000 patients per year, primarily from the state’s two largest jurisdictions, Montgomery, and Prince George’s counties. Holy Cross Health is a member of CHE Trinity Health, one of the largest nonprofit health systems in the United States.
Holy Cross Hospital, located in Silver Spring, is one of the largest hospitals in Maryland and an award-winning, national leader in quality and innovative healthcare. Last month, Holy Cross was named one of the top hospitals in the Washington, D.C. area by U.S. News & World Report.
Holy Cross Germantown Hospital, opening in October 2014, will be the first new hospital in Montgomery County in 35 years, responding to the need for health services in the fastest growing and aging county. Over the next 20 years, Montgomery County is projected to add as many seniors as it has added in its entire history, and these seniors are projected to use six times more hospital care than non-seniors.
Building Program and Sustainable Design
Holy Cross Health selected NexCore Group in a national competition to develop, own, lease and manage the four-story, 80,000 square foot MOB on the new hospital campus.
The MOB will play an integral role on the Germantown campus as it will be home to a full complement of physician services, both primary care and specialty. The physician groups and ancillary healthcare providers in the MOB will provide much-needed services to the growing population of Montgomery County in a high-quality, patient-friendly environment. The MOB will also house diagnostic and retail services.
“NexCore Group is a healthcare-focused real estate developer that understands the strategic objectives of the hospital and the physicians,” says Annice Cody, President of the Holy Cross Health Network. “NexCore’s team appreciates the critical role the medical office building will play in the overall success of our new hospital.”
The MOB will be connected to the new 93-bed hospital and a 696-space parking garage on the ground floor by a climate controlled connector to create ease of access for patients, providers, and staff. The connector will pass through a healing garden that will be located between the MOB and connector.
The MOB, which is being developed to LEED Silver standards, will include features such as high-efficiency air handling units (AHUs), a lighting control system, and a green roof. Green roofs provide several benefits such as filtering pollutants out of the air and rainwater, insulating the building from outside noise, and creating natural habitats.
Innovative Educational Partnership
As the anchor tenant of the Hercules Pinkney Life Sciences Park at Montgomery College, Holy Cross Germantown Hospital will be the first hospital in the nation on a community college campus with an educational partnership. Through an innovative partnership based on a shared commitment to education and the well-being of the community, Holy Cross, and Montgomery College have significantly increased nursing student enrollment to help address a shortage of nurses. Holy Cross Germantown Hospital will provide funding, clinical rotations for nursing and allied health students, instructional space and faculty for the college’s healthcare programs.