Meridian has purchased a vacant 94,569-square-foot medical building in Tucson located at 4888 N. Stone Avenue on a 9.27-acre parcel. The property will be fully occupied by El Rio Health, an affordable healthcare provider in Tucson for 54 years.

Meridian plans to invest significant capital into renovations and upgrades immediately. The former Tucson Heart Hospital, which has been vacant for 15 years, will be converted into a state-of-the-art health center. In addition, the project plans to install Class A custom tenant improvements fully designed to meet El Rio Health’s service line needs. Construction is estimated to begin later this month, with completion anticipated in early 2026.

Rick Kleiner of Cushman & Wakefield | PICOR represented Meridian on the acquisition and El Rio Health on the lease. Vince Femiano and Kate Morris of Transwestern represented the seller, an affiliate of Tenet Health, in the sale.

Altera Fund Advisors and Virtus Real Estate Capital acquired a four-property medical outpatient portfolio in Tucson from Healthcare Trust of America for $43.23 million ($201 PSF). The joint venture engaged Newmark to arrange financing for the deal.

The portfolio’s four assets are situated on or adjacent to hospital campuses in the Tucson market. The portfolio totals 215,571 rentable square feet in aggregate and was approximately 73 percent leased at closing.

The properties include:

• Desert Life Medical Plaza for $5.2 million.
• La Cholla Medical Center sold for $11.25 million.
• Gateway Medical Plaza sold for $23.43 million.
• Academy Medical Center sold for $3.35 million.

The first three are near Northwest Hospital, and the fourth, St. Joseph’s.

This is not Virtus Real Estate Capital’s first medical office acquisition in Arizona. Earlier this year, the company purchased Banner Health Center Plus, a 70,000-square-foot property built in 2021 in Phoenix, for $48.5 million.