Medical Center of Trinity gives new life to commercial sales

Real estate leaders expect the new Medical Center of Trinity to generate a lot of interest for commercial space.

"This medical center has created a demand for medical space in the immediate market area that hadn't existed before," Heidi Tuttle-Beisner, broker-owner of Commercial Asset Partners Realty, said in a recent company newsletter.

Several deals have closed in recent months near the new hospital on State Road 54 near Little Road. The adjacent four-story Medical Arts Building has nearly 25,000 square feet of space available for lease.

Carol Kinnard, CAP Realty broker associate, is one of the few agents in the West Pasco area with the Associated Medical Office Experts certification.

Medical space often calls for unique requirements, such as larger hallways for some specialty practices, plumbing in all designated exam rooms to accommodate sinks, or sprinkler systems for specific imaging equipment.

Kinnard handled one deal in November to sell 3,280 square feet in Trinity Professional Center. In January, she handled the sale of 4,800 square feet of space in the Trinity area.

Prices remain somewhat low at this time, Kinnard said in a recent phone interview. That tends to persuade more clients to buy rather than lease.

She has been busy since late 2011 because commercial prices didn't crash as much as residential values. Commercial short sales are much less common than residential short sales.

Opportunities remain in New Port Richey as well, Kinnard pointed out. Many medical practices near the former Community Hospital maintain offices there while adding Trinity locations.

"It would be a dynamite place for a medical school," Kinnard said of the vacant space at the former Community Hospital site after the move to Medical Center of Trinity.

Some owners might seek rezoning of their properties near the former Community Hospital, Kinnard added. That could give them the option to incorporate retail uses for their holdings.