Question of the Month: Quarry Walk – What do doctor’s offices of the future look like? It’s all about the patient experience - by Kathy Ekstrom

Imagine a doctor’s office that’s inviting, with natural stone features and a fireplace reminiscent of your favorite den or library, in contrast with the dreaded outdated dingy and dull waiting room we have all experienced. Caregivers can relax, shop or go for a walk rather than restlessly sitting, waiting for the appointment to end.  This is what today’s consumer is expecting when it comes to healthcare services and what Quarry Walk is all about.

Quarry Walk, an environmentally friendly residential, retail and healthcare community development in Oxford, CT’s uniquely designated “Village Center Mixed Use District,” is providing such an experience and savvy healthcare providers are taking notice.  

Practice managers and doctors alike must respond to the growing demands of the marketplace.  Patients no longer make their decisions simply based upon bedside manners; it is all about the patient experience. 

When it comes to healthcare, it is no different than any other real estate decision. It’s location, location, location.  A medical office campus that provides comfort, convenience and a sense of well-being are highly sought after and are emerging, and successful healthcare providers recognize this and are responding.  

How convenient would it be to have all of one’s healthcare needs met in one consumer friendly location?  Going from a doctor’s appointment, to blood draw and imaging all in one location, with an onsite pharmacy and walk-in urgent care; it is the ideal one stop shopping for healthcare services.

Upon completion, the $70 million development project will be one of the area’s single largest job creators, with over 250,000 s/f of retail space, including a 50,000 s/f medical office campus, 15,000 s/f (200 +/- child) day care facility, a 25,000 s/f proposed full-service YMCA including an indoor pool and 150 open market residential units known as The Residence at Quarry Walk.

With easy access from I-84 (Southbury) to Rte. 8 (Seymour), Quarry Walk is situated on over thirty acres along Rte. 67 (Oxford Rd.) within the tree-line collar of Oxford, the fastest growing town in Connecticut.  As a walkable community, Quarry Walk will provide a wide variety of retail options, range of restaurant choices in addition to the centralized medical office campus adjacent to Market Place Green and will provide the much- needed healthcare options to this growing community.   

Quarry Walk’s state-of-the-art medical office building will be anchored by Griffin Health, offering primary care, diagnostic imaging, blood draw and physical therapy services.  Nationally recognized for both clinical and patient satisfaction, subscribing to the Planetree philosophy of patient-centered care, Griffin Health is dedicated to improving the health of our community, the quality of life and well-being of residents. 

The January groundbreaking will ensure the anticipated opening in the fall of 2018 for both Griffin Health and Valley Orthopedic Specialists.  Plans are also underway for a walk-in urgent care clinic slated to open this summer.

Quarry Walk is the place to spend the morning enjoying a fresh cup of coffee and a brisk or leisurely walk or doing some mid-day shopping before enjoying the sights and sounds along the community village green.  Imagine enjoying a relaxing lunch al fresco prior to or after your scheduled doctor’s appointment.  

As Oxford’s Towne Center, Quarry Walk is a grocer anchored, walkable retail development with a strong pedestrian orientation, featuring green spaces for community activities and gatherings, over 1.5 miles of walking trails and sidewalks and a soon to be constructed dog park.  There will be programmed activities such as concerts, art shows, and health and wellness clinics providing fun, entertainment and education along the marketplace  green attracting shoppers and visitors from far and wide.  

Quarry Walk is being designed as a downtown, with a village-style atmosphere including decorative street lighting, granite curbs and paver accented walkways and crossings and each building will showcase architectural stone directly from the site. Featuring their signature stonework, Haynes Development has artfully created picturesque walking trails and stonewalls throughout Quarry Walk, further adding to the whole experience. 

With an onsite pharmacy, full-service grocer, banking and financial services, to an ACE Hardware store, USPS (post office), hair and nail salons, Quarry Walk has a far-reaching draw as a destination center and provides an unparalleled concentration of foot traffic beneficial to the increasingly competitive healthcare community.

“We have pre-leased nearly 50% of our medical office building and are actively seeking healthcare providers and medical office tenants who share in the Haynes philosophy of making people’s lives better and the world a better place,” said Ekstrom.  

At Quarry Walk, It’s all about community.

Kathy Ekstrom is development manager for Haynes Development Company, Seymour, Conn.