Aurora Health Care announced today that it plans to build a $130 million ambulatory surgery center and physician office building in Pleasant Prairie.
BizTimes first reported the Milwaukee-based health care system’s plans to join Haribo of America as the second tenant of the Prairie Highlands Corporate Park, located north of 104th Street and west of Interstate 94, earlier this month.
The project replaces a proposed medical center project that the system was planning for a 158-acre site west of I-94 in Kenosha, between 60th and 71st streets.
Plans for the Pleasant Prairie project include an approximately 100,000-square-foot ambulatory care center and a three-story 100,000-square-foot professional office building, Aurora said.
The project is planned for a 64-acre parcel at the northwest corner of 104th St. and 120th Ave., which is just south of where German gummy bear maker Haribo is planning its first U.S. production facility.
Aurora said future expansion on the site could be possible “as the health care needs of the community continue to evolve.”
The Pleasant Prairie village board on Thursday approved a purchase and sale agreement to sell the property at the northwest quadrant of Highway 165 and the I-94 West frontage road to buyer 2200 Polk Street, LLC for $14.5 million. State records do not list a principal office for 2200 Polk Street LLC and the entity is registered to CT Corporation System in Madison.
“We welcome Aurora Health Care, a not-for-profit organization that strives to put people first and that gives back to their community through sponsorships and partnerships, to the Village of Pleasant Prairie and look forward to working with them as they expand their footprint in Kenosha County,” said Tom Shircel, interim village administrator, in a press release.
The new development will put Aurora close to Foxconn and the growing number of employers south of Milwaukee County. It could also provide the system with better connectivity to Downers Grove, Illinois-based Advocate Health Care when the two systems merge.
“Throughout our time in the area we’ve continually sought better ways to provide high-quality, cost-effective health care for communities that are ever changing,” said Lisa Just, interim president of Aurora Health Care’s Racine/Kenosha/Northern Illinois patient service market. “The region continues to grow with multiple major developments adding to local health needs. Our new and expanded services will enhance patient access for the growing numbers of residents and employers.”
Aurora Health said the project is expected to create as many as 140 new full-time health care jobs. Services will include general surgery, orthopedics and urology, along with primary care, rehabilitation services, imaging, laboratory services, occupational health, various specialty care services, a pharmacy and Aurora Children’s Health. Work is expected to begin in the summer with a tentative opening in the spring of 2020.
Aurora officials could not immediately be reached for comment on the project.
BizTimes reporter Arthur Thomas contributed to this story.
