City Creates New Medical District

PCI exploring the construction of a new building in District

Cedar Rapids — The City of Cedar Rapids, in partnership with Physicians' Clinic of Iowa (PCI), Mercy Medical Center and St. Luke's Hospital, is pleased to announce the creation of a new economic development district in southeast Cedar Rapids called the Medical District.

The new district is expected to attract and retain high-paying medical jobs, promote reinvestment in downtown and adjacent neighborhoods, attract customers from a 90-minute driving radius and beyond, build new community partnerships and attract other medical service providers, restaurants, hotels and businesses to serve employees and visitors to the area.

The three anchoring medical partners will establish a Self-Supported Municipal Improvement District (SSMID) to form a governance system to manage and implement improvements to the Medical District. The City will provide infrastructure improvements to support the new district, including a new streetscape, lighting, parking and traffic circulation throughout the area.

The Cedar Rapids City Council will take formal action on a Memorandum of Understanding sighed by PCI, Mercy Medical Center and St. Luke's Hospital at the Wednesday, October 28, council meeting. The Medical District concept began in 2007 with the Vision Cedar Rapids Plan. The idea was reiterated through the Neighborhood Reinvestment Framework Plan in May 2009.

In addition, Physicians' Clinic of Iowa is pleased to announce today it is exploring the construction of a new medical building in the newly proposed Medical District.

Late last week, the PCI Board of Directors voted to begin exploring the construction of a new, consolidated medical office facility in downtown Cedar Rapids within the proposed Medical District on the assembled properties located at or adjacent to 2nd and 3rd Avenues and Tenth Street, pending acceptable financing and project terms.

PCI envisions a new, state-of-the-art, patient-centered, 180,000 square foot outpatient facility, which will consolidate the present five PCI medical office buildings and ancillary services into a single 'medical mall' facility.

The 'medical mall concept' for the newly proposed facility will include highly visible 'Centers of Excellence. This may include a Cancer and Therapeutic Center, an Orthopedic, Sports Medicine & Spine Institute, Men's and Women's Health Center, Neurology & Stroke Center, or an ENT & Skin Center. The new facility would also include space for non-PCI doctors and for health-related medical services.

A work group will be appointed to begin and oversee the PCI project.

MEDIA CONTACTS: Cassie Willis, City of Cedar Rapids, (319) 286-5055; Lisa Gleason Physicians' Clinic of Iowa, 319-399-2022, or 319-538-2678; Sarah Corizzo, St. Luke's Hospital, 319-369-8372 or 319-560-2385 and Karen Vander Sanden, Mercy Medical Center, 319-398-6083 or 319-558-8424.