Rob AriasSome major news has broken regarding the BioMed Realty “Emery Yards” campus that has sat vacant since its recent completion.
A glut in Life Science space had given concern to when the project might begin to see occupancy and activation. Today, it was revealed that the site will not lease to Life Science tenants but will instead become a new medical center.
Sutter Health has announced plans for a transformative new $1 Billion, 1.3 million sq. ft. Emeryville medical campus. The 12-acre site is centered around 53rd Street between Hollis and Horton.
“Our Emeryville campus project represents one of the most significant investments we’re making across our system over the next decade,” said Warner Thomas, president and CEO of Sutter Health. “[This campus] is part of our broader vision to meet the community’s growing demand for expanded access to our services across the East Bay footprint.”
As part of a planned phased approach, Sutter unveiled plans to construct its flagship East Bay campus that will feature a regional destination ambulatory care complex and a new medical center with an initial capacity of up to 200 beds and room for future expansion.
The space was previously home to pioneering Biotech firm Cetus, followed by Chiron who were next acquired by Swiss-owned Novartis before selling to BioMed Realty in 2019. Approved in 2021 as The Emeryville Center of Innovation, the project was later rebranded as “Emery Yards.”
The existing Legoretta building and the newly constructed tower at 5555 Hollis Street will accommodate a combined 530,000 sq. ft. of outpatient services. Parking will be provided at the existing 1,992-space parking garage on Horton Street.
The Emeryville expansion will eventually replace acute care services at the Alta Bates Ashby campus that the Health Care giant has considered closing instead of renovating to meet seismic safety requirements.
Berkeley officials have expressed concern about the impact a closure would have on local residents, particularly the elderly. Newly elected state Senator and former Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín expressed satisfaction that care for local residents will not be overly disrupted as the new Emeryville Medical Center will be less than 3 miles from this Ashby campus.
“I am excited that Sutter Health is continuing its commitment to healthcare access for the East Bay region with this new medical center,” Arreguín said in the included release.
The Ashby campus will instead be “reimagined” to encompass an ambulatory surgery center, urgent care clinic, and possibly skilled nursing services.
The new medical center will be built at the vacant site at Horton and 53rd initially included as Phase 3 of the Emery Yards project.
Detailed plans for this part of the project have not been unveiled, but original entitlements for the parcel included a 200 ft. tower leftover from the Chiron days.
A new, approximately 335,000 sq. ft. medical center will accommodate up to 200 hospital beds and is slated to include labor and delivery, neonatal intensive care, an ICU, emergency services, imaging services, operating rooms, private patient rooms, and additional space for future bed expansion.
“This plan ensures our East Bay patients have seamless access to the full spectrum of Sutter’s integrated services—from primary and specialty outpatient care to imaging, lab and diagnostic services, to ambulatory surgery, urgent care, and inpatient services at the new Sutter Emeryville campus,” said Arzou Ahsan, M.D., president and CEO of Sutter East Bay Medical Group.
“We are thrilled that Sutter Health has chosen Emeryville for its new $1 billion flagship medical campus,” provied new Emeryville City Manager LaTanya Bellow “This transformative investment will not only enhance access to high-quality healthcare for our residents but also create new jobs and economic opportunities for our community. Emeryville is proud to support a project of this scale, which aligns with our vision for innovation and sustainable growth. We look forward to partnering with Sutter Health to bring this world-class facility to life.”
This change in use for “medical campus with acute and ambulatory uses” will require additional entitlements through the city with Planning Commission and City Council approval in the form of amendments to the Planned Unit Development applicable to these properties and associated environmental review.
The targeted opening for the new medical center is between 2032 and 2033.
The price tag of the acquisition, brokered by CBRE, has not yet been provided.
Read the full press release on SutterHealth.org.
Super! I’m hoping for detailed traffic studies around this very wonderful project. Sounds great.
This will create a traffic nightmare, mainly because the developer converted 53rd Street from a nice wide street that could have handled the types of vehicles expected around a medical center to a narrow street with no room even for temporary parking.
Actually the design/idea of narrowing the streets came from Emeryville Public Works team.
Hopefully the added foot traffic can lead to more restaurants and cafes opening in the surrounding area. This will be great for the city.
Sounds wonderful for the city and our community. But I do wonder how it jives with the traffic modifications that have been recently completed and/or are underway — creating artificial bottlenecks and dead-ends for automobile and truck traffic is the opposite of what any functional medical center would need. We ought to find ways to open the city up for positive developments like this AND keep it safe for pedestrian and bicycle traffic.