Construction begins on Carson Medical Group building

After more than a year of planning, Carson Medical Group last week began construction on a medical facility that will house its obstetrics and pediatrics units.

The expansion into nearly 20,000 square feet on Medical Parkway helps Carson Medical Group in several ways, says Administrator Michael Lollich. Carson Medical Group's pediatricians have been working out of cramped quarters at its' Mountain Street location and needed a larger facility to better accommodate patients and doctors. The move also frees space at the Mountain Street headquarters, which has housed the group for 35 years.

Secondly, it places pediatricians and obstetricians much closer to the facilities at Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center.

"We really have been shoehorning our folks in here, and we needed more room for staff, doctors and patients," Lollich says. "This move increases our physical capacity so we can better serve the needs of our doctors and our patients."

Carson Medical Group's OBGYN practice currently rents space on the campus of Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center.

The group's new 19,557-square-foot building on Medical Parkway near Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center should be completed next February, says Jeff Shaheen of Shaheen Beauchamp Builders, general contractor on the project.

Shaheen says Carson Medical Group first contacted his company in January of 2010, and the design process was started a few months later in May. Finalized plans were submitted in November. The contract came about through an existing client relationship: Shaheen Beauchamp Builders renovated Carson Medical Group's OBGYN facility.

"We are happy to be working with them and continue our relationship with them," Shaheen says.

Shaheen says the company most likely will self-perform construction of the building, which should employ about six carpenters. Shaheen Beauchamp Builders has selected Briggs Electric and RHP Mechanical Systems for design assist work on the building's mechanical, plumbing and electrical systems.

Shaheen estimates that about 40 to 60 tradesmen will be employed on the project.

Architect Jeff Frame was selected to design the building. Frame says he worked with Carson Medical Group executives to narrow down several design renditions before ultimately selecting the finalized look of the building.

Carson Medical Group wanted a long, flat, single-level building where it could maximize on the synergy created by housing obstetricians and pediatricians under the same roof. Frame says the ground at the site, although it looks fairly level, actually drops about 10 to 12 feet in elevation. As a result, the south end of the building will have a large basement area where Carson Medical Group can store all of its old medical records.