Novant Health buys former Verizon call center for $21Mn clinic expansion
NORTH CAROLINA, UNITED STATES — Novant Health, a healthcare provider in the Southeast, has acquired the former Verizon Wireless call center in midtown Wilmington for $21 million.
The three-storey, 153,526-square-foot building at 3601 Converse Road will be converted into outpatient clinics. Novant Health will occupy the second and third floors starting next year.
The acquisition was facilitated by Flagship Health Properties, a Charlotte-headquartered healthcare real estate firm that serves clients throughout the Southeast and Southern Mid-Atlantic.
Flagship Health Properties will provide property management and asset management services for the building.
“Flagship is in the business of finding creative solutions to bring value to its investors and healthcare provider clients alike,” stated Thorn Baccich, Flagship’s executive vice president of development.
“With this project, we have achieved both. We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with Novant Health to improve the efficiency and access to critical outpatient services in the Wilmington region.”
Novant Health’s expansion plans
Novant Health plans to recruit between 60 to 70 new providers, physicians, and advanced practice professionals in the coming years to keep up with the area’s population growth.
The former Verizon building will house a variety of services, including an OB/GYN clinic, specialists in pulmonary medicine, pain management, endocrinology, and rheumatology, as well as lab services including radiology, pharmacy, and infusion chairs.
The needed renovations and upgrades are expected to take between 18 months and two years to complete. The upgrades are designed to be flexible for future expansion and use by any specialty, a new approach Novant Health is bringing to other medical office buildings.
“It’s something we’re moving towards, and with 100,000 square feet of space, it’s wise for it to be adaptable and flexible for future use,” said Ernie Bovio, president of Novant Health Coastal Region and Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center.
From call center to healthcare hub
The building, once a major economic hub in Wilmington, was initially set up in 2004 as a Verizon call center, a move that was expected to bring over 1,200 jobs to the city.
Verizon received more than $7 million in incentives through the Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) after delivering the promised jobs ahead of schedule. However, with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Verizon’s workforce shifted largely to remote work, leaving the facility underutilized.
Over the years, the property changed ownership multiple times before its recent acquisition by Flagship Health Properties.
Flagship Health Properties saw the potential to repurpose the building into medical offices.
“With the current high cost of construction, repurposing a former office building certainly sounds like a great idea, but often the reality is there are just too many compatibility and timing challenges to justify the investment,” said Gerald Quattlebaum, Flagship Health Properties’ executive vice president of acquisitions.
“However, in this instance, we were able to identify a property that was well-suited for medical conversion, and couple that with the dominant local health system and physician providers to address a need within the market.”
