-April 3,2022-
Kaweah Health is looking to acquire residential units in the Downtown Visalia area to accommodate their physician residents and visiting medical students. So says Marc Mertz, Chief Strategy Officer for the district.
Among the options are talks about development of the vacant Main St Theatre, just a few blocks from the medical complex for residential units.The theatre backs up to a city parking garage.
Other second story Downtown properties are in play as well.
“We have been looking at options to acquire or develop residential property in downtown for a couple years. We are looking at several options, including the (Main St) theater.” No deals are in place, he adds. JR Shannon bought the theatre from the city.
In a note Mertz explains “As you know, the real estate market has been heating up in Tulare County, and these learners often struggle to find affordable housing. The residents are in Visalia for 1 to 5 years, depending on their specialty. We have 130 residents.
The medical students are typically here much shorter- usually 4 to 6 weeks. We have an affiliation with the University of Southern California that brings some of their medical students to Kaweah on clinical rotations. Other medical schools, like UC Davis, have less formal partnerships but still send their students to learn at Kaweah. These rotations are a great opportunity for us to show them that Kaweah and Visalia are great places for them to consider when choosing their residency. Having safe, convenient, affordable temporary housing for these individuals would benefit all involved. We are hoping that the medical schools will help fund the facility. We are also exploring state and federal grants.”
Aerial view of Main St Theatre adjacent to a city parking garage