ROCHESTER, N.Y.—With an increase in vacant former retail space in the U.S., more health providers are looking at repurposing these spaces for outpatient procedures and other medical services. LeChase Construction is making the most of the “Malls to Medicine” benefits while overcoming its challenges for the University of Rochester Medical Center’s $227 million Center for Orthopaedics and Physical Performance.

When completed, it will be one of the most comprehensive orthopedic surgery and outpatient care centers in the country. Located on 19.1 acres at Marketplace Mall in Rochester, N.Y., phase one entails the opening of the new Surgery Center in the old Sears store later this month. Over the next few months, the rest of the project will be realized, highlighted by the Center for Human Athleticism, Musculoskeletal Performance & Prevention (CHAMPP)—a state-of-the-art center for Fitness Science—a patient clinic tower, labs, therapy spaces, and much more.

Project Approach

Process to refit the space to meet medical standards involves:

• BIM (Building Information Modeling)
• VD&C (Virtual Design & Construction)
• Off-site modular manufacturing/prefabrication were used to combat labor and cost constraints; with modularization a concept embraced by the construction industry
• Unitized curtainwall system on the clinic tower
• Prefabricated mechanical piping racks and equipment skids
• Prefabricated MEP utility racks
• Synergy Med’s Clean Cube Operating Room “kit” is modular and pre-designed. Its elements are manufactured off-site, saving 1,000 on-site work hours per room – speeding assembly and serving patients sooner.
• The kit is adaptable to site specs without retrofitting necessity.
• The Clean Cube will be the world’s first fully-functioning, technologically complete smart-cube room of its kind in an academic institution.

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