Sentinel staff report–
The long-awaited completion of the Dignity Health medical office building on Greenback Lane is now just a few months away from becoming a reality.
Dignity Health Spokeswoman Brooke Burgess told The Sentinel last week that the three-story medical building is expected to open its doors to patients starting in late spring, 2019. When complete, the massive 68,000-square-foot building will offer primary and specialty care services, and is expected to bring 170 professional jobs to the city.
“We’re all very excited to anticipate the opening of the medical office building this spring,” said Mayor Jeannie Bruins, who was recently re-elected to her fifth term on the City Council in November and subsequently appointed by her colleagues to serve a one-year term as mayor. “This will bring top-notch medical services to the people of Citrus Heights and meet a need that’s existed for a long time.”
Since first beginning construction at the corner of Greenback Lane and Fountain Square Drive in mid-2017, crews have now finished the exterior of the building and most of the landscaping. Burgess said crews are now focusing on building out the interior clinic space, which she said includes exam rooms, space for labs and x-ray equipment, and a cafe on the first floor.
The project has been nearly five years in the making, with plans first being made public in 2014 as part of a $53.2 million project to build both the new medical building and a new City Hall. The proposal faced significant opposition from vocal residents, but was unanimously approved by the City Council in March 2015.
Under the agreement, the old City Hall was demolished at the corner of Greenback Lane and Fountain Square Drive to allow for the new medical building to be constructed in its place, with Dignity Health to pay the city $6.9 million through a 15-year lease agreement for the land. The new City Hall building was constructed a block away for a little under $22 million.
According to Dignity Health, the new medical building will be home to 50 physicians and additional staff, with services offered including dermatology and endocrinology, family medicine, optometry, pain management, and pediatrics.
More medical jobs are also on track to come to the city, following the Planning Commission’s approval earlier this month for a 16,000-square-foot ambulatory surgery center to be built a few blocks away from City Hall, at the corner of Stock Ranch Road and Sylvan Road. Construction on that project could begin as early as next month.
Related: Plans for new surgery center in Citrus Heights move forward
