By Matt Valentine and Jimmy Inman III
If you drive through any busy, retail-heavy part of your city, chances are you will find a retail pharmacy like Walgreens or CVS close by. If you went back in time about 10 years ago, you might even spot both drugstores, plus a Rite Aid, all on different corners of the same intersection. Today, Rite Aid is officially out of business. CVS and Walgreens have each closed, or announced the closure, of thousands of their physical locations. The why behind this drastic shift in retail pharmaceuticals is a topic for another blog — instead we’d like to focus on the opportunity these closures provide for healthcare systems looking to expand their services and put critical healthcare services in convenient and accessible areas for their patients.
We’ve been discussing the retailization of healthcare for a long time. Our healthcare clients have been listening to their patients’ needs, and as a result, projects over the last decade have been focused on providing medical services that are more accessible, convenient, and easier to fit into patients’ daily lives. We’ve seen medical offices pop up in shopping centers, micro hospitals in underserved areas, and specialty practices coming out of the major hospitals and setting up offices that can provide outpatient care. The opportunity we’re seeing now as chain pharmacies close is to actually put healthcare services in those existing retail spaces.
Our team is converting a former CVS building in downtown Tampa into a freestanding emergency department (FSED). Through adaptive reuse, we will deliver the project approximately four months faster than a comparable ground-up project. That accelerated schedule doesn’t just save time; it creates significant value for the client. Every month an FSED remains unopened represents substantial unrealized revenue, making a four-month reduction in schedule a meaningful six-figure benefit. Beyond the potential financial value in adaptive reuse for these types of projects, here are 3 reasons converting retail pharmacies into FSEDs makes sense for healthcare clients:
The Right Size
When we prepared the CVS in Tampa for renovation, we essentially stripped the structure down to an empty warehouse. Chain drugstores are typically anywhere from 10,000 to 15,000 square feet. That’s exactly in line with the average size of an FSED and provides plenty of space needed for exam rooms, triage areas, nurses’ stations, and administrative spaces. These structures are the perfect blank canvas for standalone emergency healthcare facilities.
The Right Place
Drugstores are in prime locations. It’s part of the business model to be in neighborhoods or high traffic areas so they are convenient to large volumes of shoppers. That makes these buildings perfect for freestanding emergency departments — they’re already located exactly where healthcare systems want to be. In addition, these sites often include existing parking nearby, established turn lanes, and signalized intersections that make access easy and efficient. Not to mention, the sites have a built-in patient base in the surrounding community.
Compared to a greenfield, ground-up development, adaptive reuse eliminates much of the need for new roadways and traffic-related infrastructure, saving both time and money. It can also reduce the need for traffic impact studies and permitting hurdles. Rather than taking a chance on a new location, healthcare systems can capitalize on sites that were intentionally selected because of their accessibility, visibility, and high traffic volumes—qualities that are equally valuable for an emergency care facility.
The Right Time
Our most recent adaptive reuse healthcare project will save our client approximately four months in the schedule. The sitework alone on retail to FSED conversion projects can save a substantial amount of time if you’re able to salvage storm systems and underground utilities. For the structure, assuming the drugstore was recently closed and in good overall condition, your team should be able to salvage the foundation, exterior walls, and structural steel — a large portion of the critical path schedule. Reducing a project schedule by months, in our opinion, is reason enough to consider adaptive reuse for healthcare construction.
Now that we’ve covered the why, we’d like to leave you with an important part of the how. With any adaptive reuse project, the biggest risk lies in the unknown, specifically unforeseen existing conditions. For example, if the plan is to preserve the building’s roof structure but demolition reveals extensive damage requiring a full replacement, the budget and schedule advantages of adaptive reuse can quickly fall apart.
That’s why it’s critical to engage the right general contractor early in the design process. An experienced contractor can evaluate the existing building, identify potential issues before construction begins, and work alongside the design team to ensure necessary repairs or replacements are incorporated into the project scope. This allows those items to be accurately reflected in the initial budget and schedule rather than becoming costly surprises later.
Just as importantly, experienced builders can help develop practical solutions when unforeseen conditions do arise, minimizing disruption and keeping the project on track. The result is greater cost certainty, fewer schedule impacts, and ultimately an FSED that can begin serving patients as quickly as possible.
