A building across the street from the shuttered Doctor’s Medical Center that is currently leased to LifeLong Medical Care will continue to be used for medical offices and urgent care facilities for at least 20 years, as part of a purchase agreement for the property that aims to ensure access for low-income patients in the community.
In 2015, the City of San Pablo purchased the medical office building at 2023 Vale Road from the West Contra Costa Healthcare District, which operated Doctors Medical Center (formerly Brookside Hospital).
Now, the city aims to sell the property to Ruby Hill Properties with the aim of keeping its principal tenant, LifeLong, operating there for decades to come. LifeLong is a designated “safety net” facility that possesses a federal qualified medical center certification to handle the underinsured and uninsured, according to the city.
On Monday, San Pablo City Council authorized the city to sell the property for $4.2 million with a $300,000 no-interest, 20-year term promissory note that “will be entirely forgiven provided the property operates as a medical office and urgent care facility for the duration of the term,” city staff said.
The sale also stipulates that the property’s parking lot must be available for the general public parking from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. to access amenities recently installed by the recent Wildcat Creek Restoration and Greenway Trail project.
“These significant use restrictions and rights preserve the important government purposes of the City to facilitate accessible and affordable medical care for the San Pablo community, particularly with the closure of Doctors’ Medical Center, and to ensure community access to the nearby creek and Creekside trail,” according to city staff.
Originally known as Brookside Hospital, Doctors Medical Center closed in April 2015 after 61 years in service due to financial struggles. The hospital had served many of the community’s uninsured and underinsured. The property was later purchased by the adjacent Lytton Casino San Pablo.
