St. John Providence to put $5.4M into Borders Building if Purchased

St. John Providence intends to put $5.4 million into the former Borders building if the organization purchases the now vacant space in the Village. 

The proposal will be decided upon by the City of Grosse Pointe Council May 13. Council members already have the proposed plans for the building, St. John Providence Health System spokeswoman Sara E. Brown said. 

The intent is to make the building fit into the Village more by making the facade similar in design to others, she said, explaining it would be a more "warm and friendly" feel. 

Among the proposed plans are two small retail storefronts that will face Kercheval Avenue. One will be about 1,700 square feet and the other about 1,300 square feet, Brown said. The remainder of the 19,800 square-foot building would be devoted to St. John Providence, featuring a family practice or women's focused doctor's office, a space for physical therapy, a diagnostics lab and a time share space that could be utilized for office hours by specialty doctors. 

Healthcare generally is moving in the direction of outpatient care, Brown said, explaining the Grosse Pointe location would be one of several similar spaces owned and operated by St. John Providence. Other similar locations can be found in Harrison Township, Macomb Township, St. Clair Shores and Detroit, she said. 

Officials project they would receive about 20,000 visits per year--a figure Brown said would be encouraging for retailers because it would get people into the Village. 

With the exception of advanced health care needs, Brown said, such locations offer the health care system the opportunity to provide people about 90 percent of what they need routinely. Generally, most people only have a stay in the hospital for major surgery or some other significant event, she said. 

This location would offer Grosse Pointers and others in the area the opportunity to get their healthcare needs met without having to go to the main hospital, which is a large urban hosptial that can be difficult to navigate or feel intimidating, Brown said. 

Opening such a location is about giving patients a convenient location for services, Brown said. 

The building at 17141 Kercheval Avenue has been vacant since April 2011, when Borders closed during its failed attempt to restructure during bankruptcy proceedings. Eventually the entire company closed. 

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