ROHNERT PARK, CA—Even though an office building that San Ramon, CA-based Meridian Property Co. has acquired in Sonoma County is just 50 percent occupied, the company is confident it can boost that rate substantially.

Meridian, a commercial real estate firm that focuses mostly on healthcare, recently closed escrow on the purchase of the 69,000 square foot MOB in Rohnert Park, about 50 miles north of San Francisco.

The building, on a 4.79 acre-site at 5900 State Farm Drive, was completed in 1973. According to John Pollock, chief operating officer of Meridian, a subsidiary of Marcus & Millichap, the sole tenant is currently Oakland, CA-based Kaiser Permanente, which has occupies the first floor of the two-story building.

According to Pollock, Kaiser has provided primary care services to its members there since 2003. The top floor was vacated about a year ago by a business tenant.

Meridian has plans to convert the building for medical tenants, upgrading the lobby and making improvements to give it more of a medical look. He adds that the nearly 35,000 square feet of available space provides potential medical tenants with a “rare” opportunity to lease a larger space in Rohnert Park, a city of about 41,000 residents without much available medical space.

“We saw that there was a need for more medical service providers in the Rohnert Park market,” Pollock said. “There are only 53 licensed full and part-time doctors registered with the state of California in Rohnert Park, creating a ratio of 1.29 doctors per 1,000 residents, which is far below the national average of 2.4 doctors per 1,000 residents.”

He adds that the population within five miles of the MOB is about 58,700; within 10 miles that jumps to about 342,000.

Gina Belforte, a Rohnert Park councilwoman, told a local newspaper that the city is a “medical desert.” She added: “There's a real gap in medical care in our community. Anytime we can get medical providers to come in, it's a benefit to the whole community.”

In the changing healthcare environment, tenants are looking for larger spaces, Pollock noted. “The second floor of the building can accommodate a single user that requires approximately 35,000 square feet or up to four users at approximately 7,500 square feet each.”

Meridian did not disclose the price it paid for the building, but Pollock notes that the company will be able to provide what he calls “economical” lease rates.

The seller was a partnership between a local developer, Petaluma, CA-based PB&J Acquisitions LLC, and an unnamed institutional investor. The partnership acquired the building in 2012 as part of a 14-building portfolio.

Mike Thomason of Keegan & Coppin Co. Inc. of Petaluma represented the buyer and Meridian in the transaction.