City could become medical hub City could become medical hub (April 16, 2004)

El Camino Hospital plans to build new offices

By Julie O'Shea

The El Camino Hospital board voted last week to continue on with the planning and design stages of a $17-million medical office building. Once given the final nod from board trustees, the building -- which would be built next to a new, seismically retrofitted hospital -- could be as big as 75,000 square feet and is slated to break ground next spring.

The project could rival plans to build a 250,000-square-foot medical office hub less than two miles away at the old Emporium site on El Camino Real. That plan, being proposed by the Camino Medical Group (CMG), is currently under examination by the Mountain View City Council.

"I know there are going to be some concerns with that," Mayor Matt Pear said. "That's quite a bit of square footage that is going to come on line."

Still, Pear is looking at the two projects as just the beginning of a health care boom expected to hit Mountain View in the coming years.

Pear said he and other city officials have met with representatives from Boston Scientific and Omnicell -- medical technology giants - companies that are looking to move into spaces along the Bayshore corridor. Kaiser Permanente already has a clinic on Castro Street.

"I think it's going to bode well for Mountain View," the mayor said of the new projects.

Representatives from both El Camino Hospital and the Camino Medical Group said more space is needed to attract good doctors to the area.

"We are happy that CMG is going to be growing," said hospital spokesperson Judy Twitchell. "Our community is aging, and there is going to be a need for more physicians."

Cynthia Greaves, a CMG spokesperson, agreed, adding that the proposed facility along El Camino Real will provide doctor's offices as well as other patient services.

About 50 percent of the doctors at El Camino Hospital are members of the CMG. Twitchell said the hospital's offices are currently at 100 percent capacity.

E-mail Julie O'Shea at joshea@mv-voice.com

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