April 3,  2006 McWhinney Enterprises announces plans to break ground on the first medical office building (MOB) at Medical Center of the Rockies (MCR). Five tenants – Heart Center of the Rockies, Harmony Imaging Center, Poudre Valley Health System, Northern Colorado Pulmonary Associates,

and Good Day Pharmacy – have committed to 65% of the 80,355 square foot building. Located at 2500 Rocky Mountain Avenue in Centerra, the MOB will be the largest new multi-tenant office building in the region when it is complete in February 2007.  Construction is anticipated to begin on April 3, 2006.

The medical office building will have three stories, with pedestrian walkways on two levels connecting to Medical Center of the Rockies.  Architecturally, it will complement MCR, utilizing mostly brick and stone exteriors. It will also feature unobstructed views of mountains and lakes. McWhinney is implementing sustainable building practices for the MOB through material selection, recycling, water efficiency, and mechanical systems efficiencies.

MCR, which opens in the spring of 2007, will be a $240 million state of the art 136-bed hospital and will specialize in cardiovascular, trauma and other medical services to a multi-state region. Poudre Valley Health System estimates that the first phase of MCR will employ 800 people. Those jobs will in turn create hundreds of additional jobs as the economic impact of the hospital’s payroll and purchases of goods and services spread throughout the community. The MOB tenants named above will bring an additional 160 jobs to Centerra.  "MCR will create a substantial positive impact on the regional economy," according to JJ Johnston, President/CEO of the Northern Colorado Economic Development Corporation. "MCR will create an impact of 1,680 total jobs, generating $65.6 million dollars of economic stimulus for the regional economy," said Johnston.

“The Medical Office Building will be an important addition to Medical Center of the Rockies and will help create a robust, regional medical campus at Centerra that will serve communities across Northern Colorado as well as Wyoming and western Nebraska,” said Ron Kuehl, VP of Real Estate for McWhinney Enterprises. “We are excited by the interest the medical community has shown in this project and are pleased to offer the largest contiguous block of Class A medical office space that is available in the region.”

Cardiologist Dr. Gary Luckasen, President of Heart Center of the Rockies, also believes the project will impact health care in the region. “Heart Center of the Rockies has long been committed to cardiac care for people throughout the entire region,” comments Dr. Luckasen. “Our presence at Medical Center of the Rockies, both in the hospital and the outpatient offices, is the next step in ensuring that families throughout Northern Colorado as well as Wyoming and western Nebraska have expert cardiac care nearby."

Dynamic future plans for medical uses at Centerra include a second 80,250 square foot Medical Office Building adjacent to MCR and the development of a 16-acre campus, just south of MCR, which will accommodate single occupancy buildings, multi-tenant medical buildings and medical office condominiums.