In 87 exam rooms and 15 procedure rooms, the clinic services between 1,500 and 2,000 patients per week. UF Health searched for five years to find the perfect mix of parking, proximity to the University of Florida College of Medicine and centralized location for patients, says Marvin Dewar, senior associate dean at the UF College of Medicine.

In Racine, Wis., Advocate Aurora Health has begun the permitting process to build a nearly $7.3 million clinic in the closing Pier 1 Imports store at Regency Mall. Construction is scheduled to begin this spring, and when the clinic opens, in the fall, Aurora Health Center will offer primary care, urgent care and lab and X-ray services. The provider anticipates drawing some 16,500 patients annually by the end of the fifth year.

Retail clinics want to be where customers live their lives, observes David Wirth, a director in the Cushman & Wakefield retail services division. “This means close to grocery and other retail daily-needs providers,” he said. “In a world where retail store-closure announcements seem like a daily occurrence, urgent-care clinics offer an Amazon-proof solution to vacancy and can provide rent-roll stability often backed by credit health care providers.” Wirth says the growing number of medical tenants, including urgent-care providers and retail clinics that staff nurse practitioners instead of doctors, tend to take spaces measuring from less than 2,000 square feet to upwards of 8,000 square feet.

In San Jose, Calif., the Forward chain is opening its first mall unit, at Westfield Valley Fair. A former Google executive founded the chain in 2017, and it has a freestanding medical office in Washington, D.C., and one each in San Francisco; San Diego; and Orange County, Calif.,as well as two each in Los Angeles and New York City. Forward has raised about $30 million in venture capital for expansion.

Forward caters to consumers’ desire for constant preventive health and medical updates, with biometric body scans, genetic testing, real-time blood testing in 12 minutes and touch-screen monitors for collaborative consultations. Members pay $149 a month for unlimited visits and can use the Forward app to provide the company’s health professionals with real-time information such as heart rate and blood pressure. The service is a supplement to health insurance, not a substitute, its founders say.

“For consumers, providers and real estate owners, this is an exciting crossroad in the health care industry,” Wirth said. “For health care providers to be successful, continued evolution will be key to ensuring their model offers an elevated experience with high-quality service in a convenient location at an affordable price.”