Branch Properties JV Breaks Ground on Metro Atlanta MOB

Rendering of the Northside Medical Center at Cumberland extension. Image courtesy of Northside Hospital

Branch Properties, in partnership with Realty Trust Group, has started ground-up construction on a 60,000-square-foot medical office building for Northside Hospital in Smyrna, Ga. The development team also includes HKS as architect and Brasfield & Gorrie as general contractor. The facility is expected to open its doors in January 2023.

Anchored by Northside Hospital, the project was 94 percent leased at the time of groundbreaking. Georgia Urology, North Atlanta Primary Care and Family Practice Center PC will also be owner-occupants at the location. Medical services will include primary care, family medicine, medical oncology, urology, cardiology, orthopedics and OB-GYN services.

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To serve as an extension of the existing Northside Medical Center at Cumberland, the three-story building will take shape at the intersection of Cumberland Parkway and Atlanta Road. The property will also feature two small parks, as well as a sidewalk connecting it to the Silver Comet Trail.

The development site is roughly 13 miles northwest of downtown Atlanta, 11 miles from the health system’s main hospital.

Poised for Growth

The Smyrna development is part of Northside Hospital’s expansion program that has been ongoing for several years. The health-care provider currently has five acute-care hospitals in Atlanta, Canton, Cumming, Duluth and Lawrenceville, as well as more than 250 outpatient locations across Georgia.

One of Northside’s more recent property expansions came to fruition in October, when its Gwinnett hospital opened the new emergency department in Lawrenceville. The $57 million project included a completely redesigned trauma area, as well as a two-story addition to the existing structure.

Also in October, the hospital received approval from the Georgia Department of Community Health for the construction of a 10-story, 162-bed inpatient clinic on the Northside Gwinnett campus. Plans also call for a five-story, 143,828-square-foot medical office building for outpatient imaging and ambulatory surgery, and various physician practices. The $400 million project is slated for completion in 2023.

Medical offices in metro Atlanta

Northside Hospital’s project in Smyrna is one of five medical office developments underway across Greater Atlanta, totaling 724,000 square feet, according to CommercialEdge information. The largest one is the 275,000-square-foot Grady Center For Advanced Surgical Services in Atlanta. The project, owned by The Fulton Dekalb Hospital Authority, is scheduled for delivery in 2022.

The same data provider shows the metro currently has more than 25.4 million square feet of medical office space in its inventory, across 318 properties larger than 25,000 square feet. Smyrna’s portion accounts for 498,000 square feet.