Category: News || By Submitted Report

An urgent care center will be coming to Braddock as the result of a collaboration between Highmark and MedExpress. The facility could open as early as Summer 2013 on the site of the former Braddock Hospital.

The project is part of a $20.3 million redevelopment plan which will include 30,000 square feet of flexible office and retail space, 24 units of rental housing, 11 single-family homes and a 20,000 square foot community park. Construction will be funded through a combination of government and private dollars.

The multi-year agreement for an urgent care center in the facility will provide an anchor tenant as soon as the building is open.

"This is exciting news for the residents of Braddock and surrounding areas," County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said. "The county and this community has been working on providing more medical care facilities to this area since the Braddock Hospital closed. With this partnership between Highmark and MedExpress, and the financial commitments already made by the county, we can assure our residents that care will be there."

The site, located on Braddock Avenue between Fourth Street and Corey Avenue, has been cleaned and is ready for construction to begin. TREK Development was selected for the reuse proposal and Rothschild Doyno Collaborative is the project architect. Additional tenants for the new space could include the county health department and Community College of Allegheny County, which would rent space.

"We are really excited to see this kind of investment in Braddock, and this commitment for an urgent care facility," Braddock Mayor John Fetterman said. "The county took our concerns very seriously and have fought hard to provide this level of care to our community. We are grateful for their support and look forward to the ribboncutting next summer."

Highmark President of Health Services Deborah Rice said the company is "honored" to be in partnership with the county and Braddock Borough.

"When (Fitzgerald) approached us about partnering to provide services, we readily saw the opportunity to meet the community's needs and welcomed the prospect of serving Braddock with an urgent care center," Rice said.

Government funds committed to the project include a $3 million Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Work on the housing portion of the project is slated to begin next fall and be finished a year later.

A proposal for low-income housing tax credits for the project is to be considered by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency this week.

Editor's Note: This entire story was written from a press release by Amie Downs, Allegheny County spokeswoman.

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