On February 12, St. Mary’s Health Care will officially open the latest in a series of health care facilities making a mark on southern Kent County, one of Michigan’s fastest growing regions.
The 2-level, 86,000-square-foot building is situated on 16 acres just off M-6 at 2373 64th Street SW. Family physicians, specialists, urgent care, lab services, diagnostic services, physical therapy, a pharmacy, ambulatory surgery, and healing services are just a few of the health care options offered at the facility.
The $36 million state-of-the-art center is pursuing Silver-status Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, the third highest certification. If awarded, the campus will be only the fourth medical LEED building in the nation. St. Mary’s Lacks Cancer Center was the third.
To help keep air conditioning costs down, a special “chiller package”—underground ice storage tanks—has been installed.
“They’re going to make the ice at night when there’s less demand for electricity,” said Mark Bradburn, project manager for Wolverine Construction Management, overseers of the construction. “When the building needs cooling, they’ll circulate the chilled water in a closed loop of pipes throughout the building.”
Nearly 140 trees—including Crimson King Maple, Green Mountain Maple, arbor vitae, evergreens, and poplar—join native, drought resistant plantings around the building and along the fitness trails that meander through the park-like setting. The trails are outdoor exercise areas for campus employees. Rainwater runoff will be stored in holding tanks and used for irrigation.
The focal point of the building is the ocean-blue glass atrium that soars 2.5 levels from floor to roof. Glass and steel segments 3 feet 4 inches tall by 5 feet wide were set to look like a curved-glass cylinder in the middle of the building.
“St. Mary’s embraces healing from a spiritual and a medical point of view,” said Dr. Neil C. Colegrove, who headed the project for Advantage Health, a partner in the project with St. Mary’s and Ambulatory Surgical Center. “I think that the design, the colors, the light, and the harmony the building has with the surrounding landscape will complement the wonderful things that will happen within it.”
The building's design is by HKS Architects. Landscaping is by Katerberg Verhage Landscaping.
Source: Mark Bradburn, Wolverine Construction Management; Dr. Neil C. Colegrove, Advantage Health
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