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Plans unveiled for $80 million medical complex

By Brian Meyer
NEWS STAFF REPORTER

Published:November 9, 2010

Plans to build an $80 million medical complex at the corner of Main and High streets were unveiled today in City Hall.
"This is really the first privately held investment of this size on the medical campus," Timothy Vaeth, a vice president at Ciminelli Real Estate, told members of the city Planning Board.

Ciminelli Development Co. hopes to break ground on the seven-story structure in March.

One large tenant will be Kaleida Health, which plans to locate an outpatient surgery center in the building. There also will likely be an imaging center, laboratory space and medical offices. While architects are still working on the final building design, preliminary plans call for a glass facade.

"You see people. You see activity. You don't see any kind of blank wall," Vaeth told board members.

Developers said they believe the proposed structure will be a "beacon" for the emerging medical campus.

"This is a gateway building for the campus," said Denise M. Juron-Borgese.

The ambulatory surgery center that Kaleida is planning would fill about one-fifth of the space in the structure. The surgery facility is viewed as the first step toward the eventual move of Women & Childrens Hospital from its Bryant Street location to the downtown campus. Women & Childrens currently performs thousands of outpatient surgeries annually.

The Planning Board must still take a number of actions before the project can move forward. The board must sign off on environmental studies. Ciminelli must still submit a site plan to the city. The document is expected to be filed in January.

Frank Manuele, a former city planning director who currently sits on the Planning Board, called the Ciminelli project "outstanding." But Manuele and other panel members made it clear that they must see details before signing off on the project.

Environmentally friendly "green" technology will be used to build and operate the complex, developers said.

If all goes as planned, the structure is expected to open in late 2012.