One of the largest new medical office developments in the region is underway in the medical district near the New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington.

Construction has begun on a new medical office building, located on 8.24 acres along Physicians Drive, that will house some of NHRMC’s cardiology and imaging services. 

Construction crews began work on the new facility June 3, according to a news release. The $14 million, three-story, 62,300-square-foot building is slated for completion by June 2014. 

It will house the Cape Fear Heart Associates, part of the NHRMC Physician Group, as well as some NHRMC cardiac imaging services, the news release said.

“When Wilmington Cardiology and Coastal Cardiology Associates came together in 2011 and became the Cape Fear Heart Associates, our physicians and staff were able to offer more collaborative care for our patients,” said Henry Patel, a cardiologist with Cape Fear Heart Associates, in a news release.  “By moving all of our physicians and imaging services into this one location, we will not only be offering our patients that collaborative, high quality care they have come to expect, but more efficient care as well.”

The medical office was designed by the Wilmington division of LS3P Associates, and will be constructed by Charlotte-based Rodgers Construction.

The new clinic will boast 48 exam rooms as well as various office, classroom and break room space.

A new 17,000-square-foot hospitality house, with 24 rooms and shared kitchen and living room space, is also planned for the site as part of the first phase of development. The new facility will be named the SECU Family House at New Hanover Regional Medical Center after the Raleigh-based credit union donated $2 million toward the project as part of its challenge grant with the NHRMC Foundation. 

Once completed, the Family House will replace the hospital’s existing hospitality house on Medical Center Drive.

The second phase, which would be built when there is sufficient demand, would consist of a roughly three-story, 40,000-square-foot building on the site.

“This new building will provide our patients with a centralized location where they can meet with cardiologists and have easy access to cardiac imaging services,” said David Parks, vice president of cardiac and clinical support services at NHRMC, in a news release. “Our physicians and staff are committed to providing high-quality care to our patients and the new facility will help us expand our capabilities as we continue to grow and serve more people throughout the region.”