ALTON, IL -- Construction of the new Medical Office Building on the Alton Memorial Hospital campus is progressing as promised. The wet, rainy spring slowed the project down for a little bit, but contractor CB&E Construction was able to make up the lost time.
The project is a two-story building on the southwest side of the campus. It is approximately 30,000 square feet of new tenant space that will be leased to area physicians. Family Physicians of Alton and Alton Orthopedic Clinic are the two announced tenants so far.
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“We are very excited about the capacity the new building will give us to recruit more physicians and specialties,” says Trudy Bodenbach, director of Business Development at AMH.
The contractors installed a tent over the entire building site in January to expedite construction this winter. The cold weather and massive amounts of snow and ice in January and early February would have delayed the project indefinitely had the tent not been installed. The tent also allowed the ground to thaw. At one time there were four propane heaters warming the space. The temperature inside the tent never climbed above 40 degrees, but it was warm enough to thaw the ground and permit the construction crew to continue working.
The tent was removed in early March and the building is now under a water-tight roof. The concrete work is complete, including all of the tilt-up concrete wall panels. The construction crew is working inside the building installing windows, framing walls, elevators, electrical, plumbing and HVAC. The goal is to have the shell and core complete by July and then the construction of the interior tenant space complete in the fall.
The new building is not the only change on campus. The project added a water retention pond to help prevent rain water run from overtaxing the city’s storm sewer system. Parking lots are also being added for the convenience of the new building occupants and visitors. The new parking lots will also ease congestion of the existing Medical Office Building and hospital lots with an additional 280 spaces.
Physicians on Board
Alton Orthopedic Clinic, currently located at 2710 College Ave., in Alton, will be moving into the new doctors’ office along with Family Physicians of Alton. AOC employs Dr. Aaron Omotola, Dr. John Stirnaman and Dr. Michael Taylor, orthopedic surgeons, as well as physician’s assistant Donald LeMoine. AOC will also add Dr. Lesley Davila, a rheumatologist, this summer.
“Having our orthopedic surgeons on our campus will allow our physicians more flexibility in caring for their patients in their offices and at Alton Memorial Hospital,” Bodenbach says. “Their patients will have closer access to hospital services they may need.”
Family Physicians of Alton, currently located at 230 Regional Drive in Alton, employs Dr. Mena Luangjamekorn, a primary care physician, and is expected to add Dr. Olusegun Coker in the fall.
All of these physicians are part of the BJC Medical Group of Illinois. More tenants for the new doctors’ office will be announced later.
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