CLAY, N.Y. — Syracuse Orthopedic Specialists (SOS) moved into a new location in a newly constructed, $9 million building at 8324 Oswego Road in Clay on Sept. 18.
SOS jointly owns the building with Family Practice Associates, PLLC (FPA), which plans to open a new office in the same building in October, combining its current offices in the Clay Medical Center at 8100 Oswego Road in Clay and its other office in Lysander.
Syracuse Orthopedic Specialists (SOS) and Family Practice Associates (FPA) share equal ownership of the 40,000-square-foot building.
“That is brand new from the ground-up construction,” says Michael Humphrey, CEO of Syracuse Orthopedic Specialists, who spoke with BJNN on Sept. 12.
Besides SOS and FPA, Crouse Medical Practice-Cardiology and Syracuse Gastroenterological Associates will also have space in the building “later this year,” according to an Aug. 31 SOS news release.
To accommodate the new office space, SOS will consolidate its staff and services of the Baldwinsville, Cicero, and Clay orthopedic offices, and the Baldwinsville SOS Orthopedic & Sports Therapy offices.
The purpose of the new building is “to be more efficient with our staffing and even with some of the equipment that we need,” Humphrey notes.
The SOS locations that had operated at the Clay Medical Center, the Cicero Health Center, and in the Radisson Health Center in Lysander are moving operations to the new Clay building.
The three offices affected are leased locations, and SOS notified the landlords involved about a year ago that SOS would be moving.
Staff from each office, a total of about 25 staff members, will move to the new Oswego Road office. They include office staff, nurses, physicians, and physical therapists.
The consolidation won’t result in any job cuts, says Humphrey. “We’ve got almost everyone coming … and a few people that are not, we have openings for them in other offices,” he notes.
Sharing ownership
SOS has operated offices in Clay Medical Center and the Radisson Health Center, and FPA still does for a few more weeks.
Both organizations had been thinking about consolidating offices, and they started discussing possibilities about two years ago.
“If we’re both in a similar situation, maybe we could build a building together,” says Humphrey, recalling the general theme of the initial discussions.
SOS will occupy about 16,000 square feet in the new building. The space will include its clinical and medical offices and an area in which its physical therapists will provide therapy services, says Humphrey.
FPA will also utilize about 16,000 square feet. “We’re downstairs. They’re upstairs,” Humphrey notes.
“The FPA physicians and staff are thrilled about the new location,” Jean Carnese, practice administrator at FPA, said in the SOS release. “Combining our two current locations into the new facility will help us with efficiency and provide a functional space to continue to provide the highest quality care to our patients in an office space that will make them feel comfortable. We are equally excited to share space in a building with other exceptional medical groups like Syracuse Orthopedic Specialists, Crouse Medical Practice-Cardiology, and Syracuse Gastroenterological Associates. It will be convenient for patient referrals and access to receive the care they need in a timely manner.”
FPA will have about 85 employees in the new building, Carnese added in an email response to a BJNN inquiry.
Construction
Hueber-Breuer Construction Co., Inc. was the general contractor on the $9 million project. Paul Huysman of Bennetts & Huysman Architects PC of Manlius designed the new building. M&T Bank provided the financing for the project, Humphrey added.
The construction started last fall and continued for a period between nine and 10 months.
The Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency approved $824,000 in exemptions from sales taxes on construction materials, and a $90,000 exemption from the state mortgage-recording tax, SOS said in an email response to a BJNN inquiry.
The organizations had also applied for $1.24 million in property-tax discounts over a 10-year period, which OCIDA did not approve.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com