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KENWOOD — As Northwestern Medicine moves forward with efforts to open a $100 million center in Bronzeville, UChicago Medicine is pursuing plans to open a similar facility several blocks away.
UChicago Medicine is opening an outpatient clinic inside a renovated 13,000-square-foot building at 4658 S. Drexel Blvd., which the medical center bought in 2019. UChicago Medicine President Leslie Stern detailed the plans at a recent North Kenwood Oakland Advisory Council Development meeting.
The clinic would offer a full menu of services, including pediatrics, women’s health and senior care — the latter of which will offer wraparound services through UChicago Medicine’s Primary Care Plus program, Stern said.
Six to eight physicians would see 60-90 patients a day, a combination of new patients and transfers from the health care provider’s on-campus clinic, which has struggled to keep up with demand, Stern said. Hours of operation would be 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday and 8 a.m.-noon Saturdays, but they could be extended at the community’s request, Stern said.
No urgent care will be offered. The clinic leaders will work with an existing urgent care center nearby, Stern said. UChicago is looking to hire 10-15 staff members from the community, Stern said.
Once the project goes through the zoning process, construction could begin early next year and be ready to open by June, Stern said.
“With our on-campus clinic having capacity constraints, this new location will allow us to serve patients more quickly and conveniently,” said Ben Gibson, UChicago Medicine’s vice president of government affairs.
The Drexel Boulevard property is the former home of Shore Bank, a Black-owned community development bank that went insolvent in 2010.
The facility went through a gut rehab in 2020, with a new storefront, roof and landscaping, UChicago officials said. A parking lot replaced the vacant lot north of the property and the site now has an underground stormwater retention system. Only interior work remains, officials said.
The project is still in the early stages, so there is no estimate on its total cost, said UChicago spokesperson Ashley Heher. The medical center does not need approval from the Illinois Health Services and Review Board since officials are not proposing construction for the facility, Heher said.
The move comes months after the city approved Northwestern Medicine’s plan to open an outpatient facility less than a mile away, partnering with faith-based community organizations such as Bright Star Community Outreach to gauge the needs of the area. Northwestern hopes to break ground in summer and open as soon as mid-2025, hospital officials have said.
The UChicago Medicine project could go before the City Council’s zoning committee as soon as October, Stern said.
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