The Rosenberg Children’s Medical Plaza is a signature project on the Phoenix Children’s Hospital campus. Several alternate sites, locations and uses were considered before settling on the final design and location on the campus. The final project is the only medical office building in Phoenix dedicated solely to pediatric specialists and includes a state of the art 15,000 SF Ambulatory Surgery Center, an outpatient diagnostic imaging center, and a conference center for the hospital. This project totals 68,000 square feet and is three stories. It is an all new construction including site development. Ensemble was selected for this project after a nationwide RFP process and worked closely with the hospital planners. The architect, Stein/Cox, was responsible for design and programming with input from Ensemble and hospital representatives on the programming. Karlsberger out of Columbus, Ohio, provided Master Planning oversight for incorporation into the hospital campus.
Challenges
The primary challenge was to achieve unique design qualities in the look, feel, and function of the building while simultaneously maintaining the budget. In addition to the traditional developer responsibilities (architect and contractor selection, project management, and financial arrangements), Ensemble was responsible for identifying and presenting all design alternatives as well as analyzing the pros and cons of each alternative.
Solutions
Careful up-front planning and close team coordination paved the way for this project to proceed very smoothly. The project was virtually devoid of construction issues, despite complicated tenant improvement projects that commenced before the shell construction was complete. The project was completed in early 2003 with a final savings of approximately $200,000. Before commencing construction, the actual leasing of the building was 85%.