A 62,300-square-foot, world-class orthopaedic care facility is set to open at Willits Town Center in Basalt in late March or early April.
The Steadman Clinic and Steadman Philippon Research Institute facility has been under construction since fall 2020. The building is essentially complete and now equipment is being moved in, according to Craig Cohn, chief real estate development officer/senior vice president for Vail Health. Over the next few weeks, staff will settle into the facility to prepare for the opening, Cohn recently told members of the Basalt Chamber of Commerce at a preview of the clinic.
The three-story clinic has a commanding presence along Robinson Street, at one of the main entrances to Willits Town Center. The main floor will have the lobby and 3-Tesla MRI facilities, Cohn said. The second floor will have the ambulatory surgery center, with four operating rooms and another two roughed in for growth. The second floor will include a procedure room, nine pre-op and post-op rooms and 14 total recovery rooms.
The third floor will include physicians’ offices, 16 exam rooms, space for the Steadman Philippon Research Institute and physical and occupational therapy through Howard Head Sports Medicine.
The Steadman Clinic, Orthopaedic Care Partners, Aspen Valley Hospital and Vail Health collaborated on the project.
The Steadman Clinic, which is headquartered in Vail, started a joint venture with Aspen Valley Hospital and began operations in Aspen in December 2020. The Steadman Clinic has five doctors based in Aspen with a rotating group of surgeons from the Vail clinic.
The Steadman Clinic will maintain its presence at Aspen Valley Hospital even after the Basalt facility opens, according to Mike Kimbel, clinic director for The Steadman Clinic, Aspen. He told the audience at last week’s Basalt Chamber of Commerce gathering that the expectation is the Basalt clinic will be busy from the start. The Vail clinic sees a significant number of patients from the Roaring Fork Valley, he said. They will no longer have to travel as far for care.
“In addition to patients from the Roaring Fork Valley, we expect the facility to attract patients from other western Colorado communities, and with the area tourism, patients from the United States and abroad will also benefit from this new center,” The Steadman Clinic said in a statement to The Aspen Times.
Research and education is also a key component of the new facility. The plan is to support the training of future orthopedic surgeons and develop technologies to advance musculoskeletal health through the Steadman Philippon Research Institute.
The clinic is expected to add to the bustling midvalley business climate. The developer of the Hoffman Hotel, proposed across Highway 82 from Willits, previously said the new clinic helped make the 122-room hotel feasible.
The Steadman Clinic is one of the final pieces of the development puzzle in Willits Town Center, which is anchored by Whole Foods. The clinic is one of the last two buildings to be constructed, along with FirstBank, which will also open this spring.
The development will include a community park between the clinic and Aspen Skiing Co.’s adjacent affordable housing project called The Hub.
“The park is designed to provide an outdoor extension of the lobby of the new building, providing a seamless transition between indoors and out,” The Steadman Clinic announced at groundbreaking. “The medical building will also feature large, south-facing windows that bring in natural light and capitalize on the 360-degree mountain views, a rare feature for a medical office.”
The staffing need at the Basalt facility wasn’t disclosed. The clinic plans to share resources with its partners.
“The Steadman Clinic is collaborating with the human resources departments at both Aspen Valley Hospital and Vail Health to support staffing efforts for the new surgery center, clinic and rehabilitation services,” The Steadman Clinic said in a statement. “The recruiting team is working closely with local landlords to secure rental housing in close proximity to the project in anticipation of the facility opening this spring.”