Centennial Professional Building in Colorado Springs joins west side

The North Powers Boulevard and Briargate Parkway hospital and medical office development is not the only new construction game in town. Another key campus for doctors' practices, clinics and other professionals is developing much closer to central Colorado Springs.

With two hospitals already established, some medical practices could opt for closer-in access, with panoramic views of the Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak as a fringe benefit.

The latest addition to the medical campus scene, the 24,800- square-foot Centennial Professional Building, will join a cluster of other developments and clinics along Centennial Boulevard, atop the Fillmore Street hill. The area has attracted three projects, and the fourth, developed by Centennial Partners LLC, is scheduled to break ground this month.

Located east of the Colorado Osteopathic Foundation headquarters building at 3470 Centennial Blvd, the project's investors include general partner and local real estate broker Kevin Patterson.

The $5 million medical and professional office structure was designed by Bruce Barr and will be built by Art C. Klein Construction. It will be ready for occupancy in 18 months, said Stan Kensinger of the Olive Real Estate Group.

Kensinger and Jim DiBiase will market the project. The property was purchased from the Hill family in March.

"There just hasn't been any new office space built in that part of town in years," Patterson said.

This latest project follows three previously reported privately owned medical complexes that announced ground breakings during the last year.

The Colorado Springs Osteopathic Foundation expects to open its 11,706-square-foot headquarters in May. The building, on 1.5 acres, will house administrative offices and the Centennial Health clinic, said Dee Grimes, the foundation's executive director.

The clinic expects to begin accepting clients in June. H.W. Houston Construction is the general contractor.

H.W. Houston also is building the 63,000-square-foot Center at Centennial sub-acute rehabilitation hospital, which is scheduled to open this summer next to the osteopathic building.

The three-story building is owned by a group of Colorado Springs doctors and will include 80 private rooms.

The largest development under way, just southeast of the intersection of Centennial and Fillmore, is the 110,000-square-foot Colorado Springs Health Partners flagship medical facility.

Site work is nearing completion with construction scheduled to begin this fall.

The construction is having another positive effect on the area - the extension of Centennial Boulevard through Fillmore Street to Interstate 25.

The mile-long stretch of roadway will be built in segments and will rely on individual developer fees and land dedication to become a reality. CSHP, for example, will build about 800 feet of Centennial as part of its campus.

"I think we're looking at 12 to 14 months for the road to go all the way through," Kensinger said. "It will be great for all of us because Centennial will be a direct thoroughfare rather than a dead end like it is today."

City Planner James Mayerl sees the growth of medical office and treatment centers off Centennial as a natural evolution, responding to market and investor demand. With growth focused to the north, convenient medical services haven't been available to serve the west side and downtown.

"It's just kind of come about," he said. "It wasn't planned 20 years ago."

"And lots of people, not just those in the offices will benefit once there's a second arterial," Mayerl said. "It may actually take traffic off Chestnut where drivers cut through the neighborhood to Fontanero or Uintah, making it safer for the people who live there."

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