An under-construction medical office building that is one of the biggest commercial developments in Central Florida is also, as it turns out, one of the largest projects of its type in the nation.

A new report from 42Floors, a subsidiary of Santa Barbara, California-based commercial real estate data firm Yardi Systems, ranks the 20 largest medical office buildings in the country that will be completed this year.

Weighing in at No. 6 on the list is the Upshot Medical Center at Mills Park, which will be 160,000 square feet in size, tied with a development in Chicago and just behind a development in Philadelphia.

The Upshot project is expected to deliver in the third quarter of this year.

It joins Fort Lauderdale’s Memorial Cancer Institute (121,300 square feet) as medical office buildings from Florida to make the top 20. Six properties in the top 20 were located in Texas, including four alone in the Houston metro.

The project at 1724 N. Mills Ave. in Orlando is being developed by Orlando-based Upshot Capital Advisors, as a joint venture with Chicago-based Leopardo Cos. The estimated construction cost for the project is roughly $75 million, based on industry standards.

Leasing for Upshot Medical Center at Mills Park is being handled by Jamison Commercial Partners.

“Investors are viewing medical office as a haven in a disrupted environment,” said Doug Ressler, a business intelligence manager for Yardi Systems. “Not only have rising interest rates cast general uncertainty on property values, but the slow return of employees to the workplace is also raising questions about demand for the office sector.”

Ressler suggests office owners are rethinking their traditional office portfolios and exploring conversions to medical office buildings.

Source:  OBJ