Gafcon, Inc. Tapped for Redevelopment Project to Convert Bank Headquarters to Medical Facility

Medical Facility will Be SAC Health's 12^th Location in Statewide Network of Community-Serving Health Campuses

LOS ANGELES, April 25, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Gafcon, Inc. has been awarded a contract to provide owner's representative services to SAC Health, a community-based health center, for a redevelopment project to establish its future SAC Health – Brier Campus. Gafcon's expertise in program and project management, construction and development was sought to lead the renovation and conversion of a former bank office building into a medical campus serving San Bernardino County.

"At Gafcon, we take pride in partnering with our owner clients to deliver high-quality projects and add value by controlling cost, time and quality. We are increasingly sought out by the health care sector to oversee their most complex projects because they know they can count on our team to do it right," said Gafcon Co-CEO Bryan Benso, who jointly heads the company along with Co-CEO Robin Duveen. "We are honored to have been selected by SAC Health for this impactful redevelopment project that will improve local access to healthcare services in San Bernardino County."

SAC Health purchased the former Wells Fargo regional headquarters building located at 1003 E. Brier in San Bernardino, CA for $35,250,000. The newly acquired building is ideally located with excellent access for patients in the region. Once renovated, it will become the 12^th location in the network of SAC Health campuses and clinics.

The redevelopment project will be overseen by David Chung, Gafcon's Senior Vice President of Healthcare. Chung has more than 25 years of healthcare development and construction management experience, having managed billions of dollars in projects for healthcare facilities nationwide. Chung has held key leadership roles within the industry, including Corporate Senior Vice President of Development for Healthcare Trust of America, Vice President of Development at Duke Realty Healthcare, and Regional Director of Real Estate and Construction for Providence St. Joseph Health System in Western Washington.

"This redevelopment project is a great example of adaptive reuse. This asset was originally designed as a Class-A building housing a sizable business unit of Wells Fargo, but it has outlived its original purpose – and a strategic renovation will imbue the structure with new life," Chung said. "Gafcon's expertise in program and project management and our experience managing complex projects will ensure this building is successfully converted to an ambulatory medical campus so that SAC Health can expand its provision of medical services to the surrounding community."

The existing building is a five-story, 280,000-square-foot, Class A office building with two parking structures. The redevelopment will encompass the entirety of the building where SAC Health will provide the following services: dentistry, family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, women's health, behavioral health, dermatology, ophthalmology, orthopedics, urology, community resource center and an ambulatory surgery center.

"We are excited to be working with Gafcon to transform the site into the future SAC Health – Brier Campus. Together with Gafcon's leading industry professionals who understand the challenges and opportunities inherent in complex construction projects, we are poised to create a health care campus that will serve as a hub for SAC Health's full range of services," said SAC Health Chief Operating Officer Maryellen Westerberg, DrPH, RDN, CDCES. "At SAC Health, we are committed to empowering our communities to flourish by making quality health care accessible to all. The future campus will offer excellent access and deliver state-of-the-art facilities for our patients in the region."

As the population ages, increasing demand for medical services has led to the conversion of many commercial office buildings into medical office buildings, outpatient clinics, wellness centers and other health care facilities. These projects can be complex and must address enhanced needs of medical buildings for heating, ventilation and cooling (HVAC) systems, ventilation and airflow requirements, structural issues surrounding sensitive medical equipment, and accessible entryways – to name a few considerations.

Renovations on the San Bernardino facility are set to begin in the coming month, while extensive planning continues to determine the services that will be offered at the future SAC Health – Brier Campus. A grand opening is tentatively planned for 2025.

ABOUT GAFCON:
Gafcon, Inc. provides comprehensive services in program and project management, master planning, feasibility, construction, and development. The company's techniques and methodology were developed as a response to increasing client demand for more effective controls, focusing on controlling cost, time and quality. Gafcon's diverse portfolio includes projects from the educational, public works, governmental, commercial, and residential sectors. As an award-winning firm, Gafcon has been recognized in Engineering News-Record's Top 50 Program Management and Top 100 Construction Management Firm lists. Learn more at www.gafcon.com.

SOURCE Gafcon, Inc.