El Rio Health Care Buys Retail Property in Tucson for $1.8 Million

Tucson, Arizona – CBRE has arranged the $1.8 million ($59 PSF) sale of a 30,600-square-foot retail property on 2.07 acres located in an opportunity zone at 3655 East Grant Road in Tucson.

Nancy McClure of CBRE in Tucson represented the buyer, El Rio Santa Cruz Neighborhood Health Center, Inc., in the transaction.

Situated at the northwest corner of Grant Road and Dodge Boulevard, the two-story building has served as a bank branch since it was built in 1968. The property benefits from a strong urban infill location and accessibility to the University of Arizona, downtown Tucson and Interstate 10.

The new owner-user plans to convert the former Wells Fargo bank into a community healthcare center, dba El Rio Community Health Center.

In the late 1960s, President Lyndon B. Johnson declared a “War on Poverty” and the concept of neighborhood health centers was born. The first El Rio neighborhood health center opened in October of 1970.  Against this national backdrop, local advocates on the west and south sides of Tucson were building new communities in the barrios and fighting for basic services including healthcare.

At the same time, the founding dean of the new College Of Medicine at the University of Arizona – Dr. Merlin DuVal – wanted a new way to train young medical students and saw that a neighborhood health center would provide that opportunity while serving the healthcare needs of the underserved. He enlisted the help of Dr. Herb Abrams who had already worked with a community in Chicago to build one of the first centers there. Abrams connected with local leaders in the barrios and enlisted their support.

In 1970, with the donation of a building by Pima County and $50,000 for renovations, along with a federal grant, the first El Rio neighborhood health center opened with a small staff of health professionals offering primary medical and dental care. El Rio Health is now one of the largest, most highly regarded integrated health centers in the country serving over 104,000 people at multiple locations throughout Tucson. El Rio currently employs 1,300+ with an annual budget of $147M.

For more information, McClure can be reached at 520.323.5117.