A healthcare and medical insurance provider is taking steps toward a presence in the South Downtown area. 

The Kaiser Permanente medical building at 1175 Cascade Parkway in Atlanta

Kaiser Permanente announced Tuesday it purchased 7 acres in the Summerhill neighborhood for $31.5M for a “long-term investment in one of Atlanta’s most culturally significant and rapidly evolving neighborhoods,” the company said in a press release.

Ravae Graham, a Kaiser spokeswoman, said the company purchased 550 Hank Aaron Drive and 41 Fulton St., a former Atlanta Braves parking lot across the street from Georgia State University’s new planned baseball stadium. 

Atlanta-based real estate investment firm ANiMAL was the seller of the 41 Fulton St. property, the Atlanta Business Chronicle reported.

Without going into specifics, Kaiser stated it planned to use the land “for a variety of purposes to improve access to care,” according to the release.

Graham said the firm has no definitive plans “on purpose” in order to engage with neighborhood and community stakeholders on what is most needed. The final plan will be dictated by that feedback, she said. 

“We don’t want to just come into a community and say, ‘This is what it needs.’ We want to be as collaborative as can be,” Graham said. 

Kaiser Permanente is the second major healthcare operator to take a land stake in the city of Atlanta since the closure of Wellstar Health System’s Atlanta Medical Center in 2022.

In 2024, Charlotte-based Atrium Health bought 40 acres near the West End MARTA Station. One city council member predicted the parcel would become a new hospital for the area, the Atlanta Business Chronicle previously reported. 

Atrium has not revealed its plans for the land since the purchase.

Earlier this month, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens called on Fulton County and the state of Georgia to address the lack of medical care facilities in Southside Atlanta during a speech at the Kiwanis Club of Atlanta.

“The city’s responsibility is not healthcare. That’s not in our charter. We can give outreach, we can give advice, but we’re not responsible for healthcare,” Dickens said.

Western Washington University (WWU) marked a major milestone by completing Kaiser Borsari Hall, a cutting-edge learning facility.

The new building will not only expand capacity in WWU’s growing electrical and computer engineering, energy science, and computer science programs but also set a precedent as the first publicly funded zero-energy academic building on a university campus in Washington State.

At approximately 54,000 square feet, it will provide state-of-the-art teaching spaces and experiential learning environments, along with teaching labs, learning research labs, active learning classrooms, collaborative space, and academic administrative space.

Kaiser Borsari Hall is a public-private funding partnership financed by a lead gift alongside state and federal funds. Perkins&Will is performing design consulting, and Mortenson is the general contractor and construction manager. The structure’s eco-friendly design integrates advanced energy-saving technologies to ensure carbon neutrality and operates with a zero-energy footprint.

Photo credit: Eastdil Secured