Meridian Buys AZ Medical Center for $5M

By Tudor Scolca

Lois Grunow Memorial Clinic

Meridian, a division of Marcus & Millichap, acquired Lois Grunow Memorial Medical Center in Phoenix. PacVentures sold the historic building for $5 million. The clinic is located at 926 East McDowell Road, in the city’s Coronado District, near 13 major medical centers, including Banner University Medical Center. Avison Young Principals Alexandra Loye and Julie Johnson, who is also a certified commercial investment manager, from the firm’s Phoenix office, represented both parties in the transaction.

Historic building, future-ready

The medical center was built in 1931 and designed by Lester Byron, in memory of Lois Grunow, a seven-year old who passed away from a ruptured appendix. The building’s façade and windows feature stone carvings depicting various aspects of the medical profession. The interior features memorial plaques honoring doctors who worked in the clinic, as well as murals portraying major milestones in the history of medicine. Meridian stated that it intends to keep the design intact, while also adding various upgrades.

“Grunow was one of the first clinics of its kind in Arizona where doctors could be located by a hospital. It also created the opportunity for patients to see their doctor in more of a residential setting rather than having to go downtown,” said Mike Conn, senior vice president of Meridian, in a prepared statement.

The two-story medical office building totals 51,150 square feet of usable space. Meridian plans to re-tenant the property, which was 40 percent leased at the time of sale, update it to ADA requirements and add new fire sprinklers. “Meridian is looking to acquire health-care properties across the risk spectrum – from opportunistic value-add to core deals on or near health-care campuses,” said Ben Ivory, acquisition manager at Meridian, in prepared remarks. Recently, Meridian completed another value-add acquisition of Sutter Square, a 175-square-foot office building in Concord, Calif.

Image courtesy of Meridian.