BEAVERTON, OR-Officials in Beaverton, a large suburb of Portland, are heavily involved in trying to bring a new healthcare complex for low-income residents to their city. In fact, city councilors in recent weeks confirmed their support for the potential development of a $33- million outpatient center that could include multiple providers and agencies offering healthcare to underserved patients.

It looks as if the city is moving forward with a plan to have the project developed on land it currently owns but would transfer to a developer. Evaluating the feasibility of such a project in recent months has been Madison, WI-based Erdman, which, if chosen as the developer, would likely partner with San Diego-based Pacific Medical Buildings.

Reports indicate that the city would transfer ownership of the land to its chosen developer prior to April 1, 2014, by which time the plan would likely be shored up and approved. Erdman officials recently reported to the city that tenants in the complex would likely pay rent of between $16 to $25 per square foot, which would be comparable to nearby buildings of equal quality.

The proposed center would be home to multiple health and wellness agencies that have been involved, along with the city, in the two-year-old Beaverton Community Health Collaborative. Tenants could include the Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center, Community Action, Lifeworks NW, the Washington County Dept. of Health and Human Services, and Women's Health Associates.

As part of Erdman's analysis, the company found that between 2012-13 about 12% of the Washington County population could not afford to visit the doctor. It also reports that about 35,000 people in the area are medically underserved.

Rustin Becker, SVP of strategic planning for Erdman, recently told city councilors that the proposed health center “stands out as something truly unique,” noting that healthcare collaborations can have a greater impact in providing healthcare services to the underserved than any single clinic or organization. “We remain very committed to advancing the project and would like to see it move forward,” Becker said.

The project will likely be developed on what is known as the Westgate site, on Southwest Cedar Hills Boulevard. It is owned by the city and Metro, the Portland region's planning agency. The site is adjacent to the Round, a long-struggling housing and retail development where the city plans to move its offices in 2014.

The city and the collaborative need to choose a developer and give it control of a site by April 1, 2014, in order to apply for new market tax credits from the federal government. The tax credits are critical for building the health center, city officials have said.