Orthopedic and Sports Institute.com - Surgeons plan $8.3M clinic in city


SURGEONS PLAN $8.3M CLINIC IN CITY
APPLETON - A group of Fox Cities orthopedic surgeons plans to build an $8.3 million orthopedic and sports medicine clinic on the city's north side. The Plan Commission on Monday voted 6-0 to recommend Common Council approval of a $1 million offer to purchase eight acres of land in the Northeast Business Park by the Fox Valley Orthopedic Surgeons Association. The council will consider the recommendation March 2. The eight-surgeon group plans the 50,000-square-foot Orthopedics and Sports Institute of the Fox Valley with a long-term vision of adding 25,000 square feet of space on the parcel at Ballard Road and U.S. 41. "We expect to have the building up and running in less than 12 months," said Dr. J. David Kuplic, an association member and surgeon at the Valley Orthopedic Clinic in Appleton. Ald. Edward Baranowski said he feared allowing a medical facility to build on a parcel of prime real estate with high property tax potential could lead to the property eventually being removed from the tax rolls. "If we go through with this deal, we need to get the best bang for our buck in property taxes," he said. Community Development Director Peter Hensler said the city will insist as a condition of sale that the land remain on the tax rolls. The offer of $130,000 an acre is $30,000 more than the city's asking price, Hensler said. He said the high offering price stems from the surgeons' desire to have the city split eight acres off a 16-acre site in the business park. The offer to purchase was finalized Monday morning, Hensler said. Kuplic said the project is a move to deal with the competitive environment in health care locally. "We know the health care dynamics in the area are changing, including outside organizations coming into the Valley," he said. Kuplic said the facility would employ the equivalent of 85 full-time workers, including the eight surgeons and support staff. Currently, the eight surgeons practice independently in the Lindstrom Orthopedic Clinic, Orthopedic Clinic of Appleton and Valley Orthopedic Clinic. Ald. Edward Kranick expressed concerns about traffic caused by the clinic, along with banking some of the city's best real estate on a medical facility. "I'd like to get more information on the project and the viability of this facility over the next five to 10 years," Kranick said. "The health care field is changing. While you may have the most cutting-edge facility today, what happens down the road with this building as health care changes and we are getting bought out by more regional health care providers?" Kranick asked. "Is this building going to stay there, be viable and add to the tax base or, worst-case scenario, be an empty building sitting there like the dog track up the road?" Dr. David Eggert said orthopedic surgeons are competitive by nature. "We are doing this to compete against the Aurora (Health Cares) of the world," Eggert said. "We don't intend to be bought out by anyone."
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SURGEONS PLAN $8.3M CLINIC IN CITY