Architect, Construction Company Chosen for New Brooklyn Health Center
Although groundbreaking on the new Brooklyn Health Center will not occur until September, 2014, a considerable amount of work on the facility is already underway. As examples, after careful consideration the Benefit Funds office has retained an architectural firm to design the new Brooklyn Health Center, as well as the construction company that will build it.
The architectural company chosen for the design of the new Health Center is Francis Cauffman, one of the top 25 design firms in the country, according to Modern Healthcare magazine. This is a firm that is committed to the effective development and delivery of innovative health facilities. The company’s recent projects include St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center, Geisinger Health System’s critical care building and the Hospital for Special Surgery’s ambulatory care facility.
An equally prestigious company, Skanska USA, has been chosen to build the new Brooklyn Health Center. Headquartered in New York, Skanska USA is one of the largest and most financially sound construction and development companies in the country. Skanskas USA has expertise in construction, public-private partnerships and commercial development initiatives. It is the company that built Met Life Stadium, where the Giants and Jets play and where the 2014 Super Bowl will take place.
The new Brooklyn Health Center will be built with union labor, of course, and groundbreaking is scheduled for September, 2014.
The building in Brooklyn will be 50% larger than the Harlem Health Center! Its design will not only incorporate the most modern and futuristic elements of health care, it will be based in part on actual suggestions made by members and their families. The Benefit Funds recently conducted focus groups consisting of patients from all four current Health Centers. Valuable information was gathered from these groups and the ideas they generated will be included in the design of the new Brooklyn Health Center.
In addition to the processes of selecting an architectural firm, hiring a construction firm, and conducting patients’ focus group studies, there has been quite a bit of other work taking place as plans for the new Brooklyn Health Center move forward. Benefit Funds Chief Executive Officer Dr. Robert Greenspan and his staff have had to contend with environmental matters and a Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) impact study — since the new facility is so conveniently located close to subway, rail and bus service. In addition, because the facility’s location is in an upscale neighborhood that has been declared a cultural district, approvals from several other agencies were necessary.
As we have reported before, the dental offices in the new Brooklyn Health Center will have more than 20 chairs. The pharmacy will be four times larger than the current pharmacy in Brooklyn.
The location of the new Brooklyn Health Center, 620 Fulton Street, is two blocks from Flatbush Avenue and a short walk from the Long Island Rail Road’s Atlantic Avenue Terminal, which is also a stop for a number of subway trains. In fact, the following subway lines are all within five or fewer blocks: A, C, G, N, R, Q, B, D, F, 2, 3, 4, 5. Buses that stop within one block of the site are the B25, B26, B38 and B52. The ultra-modern, state-of-the-art Brooklyn Health Center is expected to be completed in April, 2016.
