TAMPA, FL-It wouldn’t have happened five years ago. But it’s a bona fide commercial real estate trend today: medical groups are renting retail space in strip malls.

Florida Orthopaedic Institute has leased a former Borders bookstore location on N. Dale Mabry Highway. The growing healthcare provider plans to convert it into a clinic that is scheduled to open in January complete with X-ray, MRI, clinical offices and facilities for physical and occupational therapy.

It was an opportunity to take prime space within easy access of 1-275. Florida Orthopaedic Institute is leasing the 27,500-square-foot facility from Langer US Investments. But the big box anchors probably would have shunned the idea before the Great Recession.

“Vacant office and retail are attempting to reposition themselves as medical office or core medical tenants,” Jim Allen, managing director, Healthcare Services Group for Colliers International Tampa Bay, tells GlobeSt.com. Allen represented Florida Orthopaedic Institute in the deal.

“This option of conversion is worth pursuing,” Allen continues. “It’s a win-win.”

Nationwide, Colliers brokers report seeing approvals from big box retailers that have historically mandated exclusions for medical office begin to embrace the concept. That’s because restaurants retailers benefit from the foot traffic to healthcare providers in the shopping center. Allen says other medical groups are seriously considering retail opportunities for conversion—and retailers are welcoming them in a down economy.

Headquartered in Temple Terrace, Florida Orthopaedic has 10 locations around the Tampa Bay area. It will be moving its south Tampa office from its current location on Lois Avenue when the new facility opens at 909 N. Dale Mabry Highway. As Florida’s largest orthopedic group, the company is on a solid path of growth.

“This new, highly visible and easily accessible, 27,500-square-foot location will expand FOI’s opportunity to provide services to communities from South Tampa to Carrollwood,” Joyce Anderson, CEO of Florida Orthopaedic Institute, said in a statement. "Once the build-out of the property is complete in early January, this will be a state-of-the-art facility that offers the best in care for our patients."