Fall River, MA – Columbia Construction Company and Steffian Bradley Architects
(SBA) broke ground on a 78,000 sf community health center for HealthFirst in Fall River, Mass.
The scope includes the gut renovation of an existing single-story building, with a mezzanine.
The health center’s future home – located at 387 Quarry Street – was formerly owned by Quaker
Manufacturing, which is located less than a quarter of a mile away from its current location.
“This once-in-a-lifetime renovation opportunity will provide HealthFirst Family Care Center’s
patients and staff with a state-of-the-art healthcare facility. We are proud of our selection of
Skanska USA, Columbia Construction, and Steffian Bradley Architects – all experts in their
field – to successfully guide us. Their commitment to our mission of service to the residents of
the Greater Fall River community and their desire for project excellence is outstanding, stated
HealthFirst’s CEO, Julie Almond.”
SBA’s design will create an open spacious feeling by bringing natural light and landscaping into
the interior of the building. The exterior of the building will be renovated to create a fresh image
for HealthFirst. The new health center will embody the patient-focused care HealthFirst already
provides, creating a superior healing environment for the Greater Fall River community. The
building’s large floor plate also offers expansion space for future use.
HealthFirst Family Care Center is being designed and built as an environmentally friendly and
energy efficient facility, and will provide improved patient flow and ample parking.
This project has been made possible by an $11.5M grant from the Facility Investment Program
under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The estimated construction cost of
HealthFirst’s expansion project is $8,000,000. The new location allows HealthFirst to consolidate
and expand their services in a contemporary setting that meets current healthcare standards. The
health center currently serves approximately 6,000 plus patients per year in their cramped 10,000
sf facility located at 102 County Street. In their new space, the number of medical exam rooms
will increase from 13 to 27 and the number of dental operatories will grow from 5 to 9. As a result
of their new and expanded facility, HealthFirst expects to see an additional 6,000 patients per
year for a total of more than 17,000 visits.
The plan is to use about 40,000 sf for the health center’s needs. Reserve 5,000 sf for future
expansion. HealthFirst will lease the remaining space to community partners, such as Saint
Anne’s Hospital, Southcoast Hospitals Group and National Physical Therapy, to provide specialty
services. These partnerships will improve the accessibility of health care by making specialties
such as cardiology, podiatry, ophthalmology, X-ray and expanded laboratory services available
underone roof.
There will also be a pharmacy located in the building operated by Pharmacist, Tom Cory, of
Standard Pharmacy.
The health center is scheduled for completion in December 2011. Additional team members
include Thompson Consultants, Inc., as the MEP Engineer; and Goldstein-Milano LLC, as the
Structural Engineer.
