Kaiser Permanente officials broke ground Friday on the new four-story, 146,000 square-foot Orchard Plaza Medical Office near Fresno Street and Herndon Avenue. Kaiser Permanente image

Kaiser Permanente officials broke ground Friday on a new four-story, 146,000 square-foot medical office building near the existing hospital campus in north Fresno.

Orchard Plaza Medical Office will be located on seven acres near Fresno Street and Herndon Avenue, just north of the distinctive Santa Maria building with its three stories and red mission tile roof north set back north of Herndon.

Kaiser Permanente was also named this week the “Best Hospital” by voters in the Best of the Central Valley Business Readers Choice Awards,

The complex will be built just east of a ponding basin on seven acres and will provide more than 500 parking spaces, including 27 EV charging stations. Additionally, Kaiser will be pursuing LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification by installing solar panels and utilizing low-emitting materials to improve indoor air quality.

The complex will also feature drought-tolerant landscaping, cycling facilities and walking paths around the campus.

 

“With this new facility we’re going to expand our space for our physicians, and our staff and also our patients,” said Shahzad Jahromi, physician in chief and chief medical officer at Kaiser Permanente Fresno. “We’re also going to expand our services and add additional services with this new building.”

With the hospital being a member of a nationwide network – Kaiser Permanente – it required approvals from not only the City of Fresno, but also Kaiser’s leadership itself, which caused the project to be delayed longer than many physicians had hoped.

“Unfortunately, with the market in Fresno many years ago, it was difficult for them to make a decision to make that move,” Jahromi said. “The pandemic postponed our building also for two or three years.”

Jahromi said the building plans have been in the works for approximately eight years.

“Two things I really enjoy as a mayor of this city — one is groundbreakings and the other is ribbon cuttings because they really show the growth of our city,” said Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer. “When I think about that, whether it’s a new business opening up or a housing project or medical facilities – they’re important to our community.”

Dyer and Fresno City Councilmember Garry Bredefeld represented City Hall at the groundbreaking, flanked by a number of Kaiser Permanente doctors and physicians.

Kaiser Permanente Fresno is located in District 6 — the district that Bredefeld represents.

Once open, the facility will offer expanded adult and family medicine, as well as pediatric, behavioral health services, endocrinology, infusion center, lab, Ob-gyn, occupational health and other services.

The complex will offer 138 high-tech exam rooms and will be served by 116 providers. It is expected to open in 2025. Swinerton in Fresno is the contractor.