The Bronx’s new health hub got even healthier.
Affinity Health Plan has signed a lease to move into 95,000 square feet of office space at the Metro Center Atrium — a massive mixed-use complex nearing completion at Pelham Bay’s Hutchinson Metro Center. The low-income insurance provider will be the Atrium’s largest tenant after it completes its move from its headquarters at 2500 Halsey St.. Affinity joins a legion of healthcare tenants at the complex, which is part of the larger, 42-acre Hutch Metro Center office park.
Montefiore Medical Center, Calvary Hospital, Fresenius Medical Care North America and Hanger Prosethetics are among the healthcare tenants that have already signed leases at the Atrium.
And the developer says he’s not surprised that yet another healthcare company has chosen to lay down its roots at the Hutch.
“The Metro Center Atrium has emerged as the premier location for healthcare companies and medical practices looking for state-of-the-art space in a convenient and central location with first-class amenities,” said Joseph Simone, of Simone Development.
The Atrium, after it clears its review process with the Department of Buildings, will bring together many healthcare tenants who before were scattered throughout the borough. The health organizations are attracted by the amenities at the site, as well as the suburban levels of parking, said one member of the development team.
“We knew there was a need for medical practitioners to relocate to a full-service complex,” said Joe Kelleher, president of Simone Metro Properties. “And here, with the ease of coming and going, there’s nothing like it.”
Doctors and patients will certainly have plenty to do before and after appointments. The Atrium also includes a 1,500 square-foot Dunkin Donuts on the ground floor, and a 50,000 square-foot LA Fitness health club long-delayed but set to open any day now.
The facility will also host the borough’s first Marriott Inn hotel. Simone will also be announcing a “family-style” restaurant opening at the Atrium, as soon as the lease is finalized.
The 370,000 square foot Atrium also includes a Children’s Corner day care center.
It’s all a far cry from what the site looked like in 2001, when Simone first snapped up the land, which was once an abandoned mental health treatment center.
Now the Hutch hosts the 460,000 square-foot 1200 Waters Place building, the nine-story Tower One next door, the Atrium, and a 280,000 square-foot office park called Tower Two, which is currently under development.
