Healthcare: Spa-like clinic opening
Construction crews have been transforming three floors of a Rutherford building into a medical office where patients will be able to get tooth implants, a face lift or routine medical exams.
Business executives could stay in one of two VIP waiting rooms, each with a full bathroom, sofa, recliner, desk and TV. On their way out, they could grab an espresso at the clinic’s cafe.
The Malo Clinic at 201 Route 17 north, which could open as early as March, would be less a typical doctor’s office, more a spa and wellness center.
“I don’t think this will be a facility for everybody, but for the patients who do want the best in health care, we’re looking to offer it to them,” said Steven Moss, a Bergen County oral surgeon who is among the doctors behind the new clinic.
For the commercial real estate market, the clinic is a sign of the relative health of medical office buildings, compared with office space overall.
Outpatient medical and surgical centers have been appearing inside office buildings over the last decade, said Mike Fasano, regional manager for Marcus & Millichap, a commercial real estate brokerage with offices in Elmwood Park.
“There’s a lot of this stuff that’s all same-day that really doesn’t need to be in hospital,” Fasano said.
Marcus & Millichap recently brokered the sale of a 27,162-square-foot medical office building at 305 W. Grand Ave. in Montvale, fetching $171 per square foot – a sales price Fasano called “pretty strong,” given distressed sales in the current market.
Medical office buildings have fared better in the downturn than office buildings overall. By the end of 2009, North Jersey’s medical office space is projected to have a 16 percent vacancy rate, according to Marcus & Millichap.
Office space overall in Bergen, Passaic, Hudson, Essex and Union counties, however, is expected to have a 16.9 percent vacancy rate at year’s end, according to Marcus & Millichap.
The Malo Clinic in Rutherford would be the first clinic for the Portugal-based Malo Group in the United States. The company, which manufactures parts for its dental implants in Mahwah, has up-and-running or under-construction locations in Europe, Asia, Africa and South America.
Malo chose Bergen County for its proximity to New York City and transportation.
“New York City is impossible to get patients in and out of on time.”
The clinic would occupy about 75,000 square feet on 2 1/2 floors of the building. Construction is expected to be completed in January.
E-mail: tangel@northjersey.com
BY ANDREW TANGEL for The Record
