TENANT TREND #2: HEALTHCARE AT THE MALL
Need to fill empty space? Walk-in medical clinics hold a lot of tenant promise, as regional companies such as New York’s City Practice Group and national chains such as Humana’s Concentra increasingly find homes in spaces vacated by shuttered retailers in strip malls and shopping centers.
Hospitals are also getting in the game. Vanderbilt University Medical Center, for example, is building clinics in retail settings throughout the Nashville metro area.
Shopping centers and walk-in clinics are, in many ways, a perfect marriage. The clinics “look for retail outlets with high visibility, high traffic patterns, and signage capabilities,” Scott Mason, executive managing director of Cushman & Wakefield’s healthcare group, told Bloomberg Business. And for mall developers, clinics can be highly desirable, offering stability and a willingness to sign long-term leases. — Katherine Boccaccio