Yes, hospital signs deal for health center at 38 Sixth, but who's paying and who's served?

Health care center in yellow, at northwest of building;
from March 2016 presentation by architect SHoP

In NY-Presbyterian Brooklyn Inks 26K SF at Greenland, Forest City’s Pacific Park, the Commercial observer reported 7/28/17:

NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital has signed a 26,462-square-foot deal at Greenland Forest City Partners’ 38 Sixth Avenue in the Prospect Heights section of Brooklyn, according to Joseph P. Day Realty Corp.
....It wasn’t immediately clear if the hospital needs the new digs for just office or a mix of medical uses. A spokeswoman for the hospital only emailed, “we have no information on this.”

Nor did any of the participants offer details.

Ah, what the Commercial Observer didn't know/remember is that the building has long been slated for a health care center promised in the overall project, occupying--as I wrote in January--a 23,000 sf health clinic in 38 Sixth (aka B3), on four floors, including 2,739 at ground floor.

Pending questions

But many questions remained unanswered, regarding audience and cost.

So, will the state-of-the-art facility be geared to the mostly well-heeled residents of Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park? Or to low-income families? Maybe both. (Curiously, there's still no mention yet on the 38 Sixth web site.)

According to the June 2005 Atlantic Yards Community Benefits Agreement (CBA, p. 26, and excerpted at bottom), the project developer and the Downtown Brooklyn Neighborhood Alliance (DBNA) "will work with an appropriate health care provider that will operate a community health care center" within the project.

The center will provide "comprehensive quality primary care" and include:

• a health care clinic
• health promotion center
• health library
• screening and wellness center

The developer is supposed to consult with the DBNA and program providers on the design, just as with the day care facility (aka "intergenerational center").

Who'll pay?

As with the intergenerational center planned for a later building, there's wiggle room regarding costs. To ensure it's affordable to low-income households, the space will be provided "at rent and terms to be agreed on."

The developer may provide, at its expense, the initial tenant buildout, which may be recovered by lease terms. The developer is not obligated to provide ongoing funding. So perhaps elected officials may be asked for help.

Previous documents, from Empire State Development

From the November 2006 Final Environmental Impact Statement, Project Description:

The proposed project would also include a 20,000-sf health care facility that would provide a broad range of health care services to the community. Services at this proposed facility (program being developed) could include primary care and preventative services, specialty care, diagnostic testing and ancillary services and related support services to improve the management of prevalent chronic diseases. This health center would occupy a portion of the residential space and would be constructed during Phase I.

Previous documents, from the DBNA

The DBNA, one of the few if only CBA signatories still active, states on its website:

Our Downtown Brooklyn Neighborhood Alliance (DBNA) Health Care Facility is part of creative change that will offer new opportunities for improving health in the communities of the Atlantic Yards footprint. As per the Community Benefits Agreement (CBA), the Health Care Facility is described as follows:
[AY/PPR: This isn't precise, actually. For example, the wellness center is described only generally in the CBA.]
"The Project Developer and the DBNA will work with an appropriate health care provider that will operate a community health care center to be located within a building at the Project. The center shall provide comprehensive quality primary care at client convenient hours, and will include a health care clinic, health promotion center, a library, screening center, and wellness center. The Health Care Clinic will provide primary care in areas that will be determined based on community needs assessment, real-time services being provided by existing health facilities and statistics from the New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The Health Promotion Center will provide a variety of health information and education sessions to patients and family members. The library will be a user friendly continual source of online information and print material on a plethora of health issues of concern to the community. It will also provide steps to take in a particular situation and steps in handling the threat of illness. The Screening Center is intended to provide screenings to support the services of the clinic. The Wellness Center will provide alternative medicine opportunities to include, but not be limited to, massage therapy and acupuncture.”

More from the DBNA

The DBNA offers the following:

Covenant
We declare an on-going Covenant Partnership between Members of the Communities we serve and our Health Center Team.
Mission
To Enhance the Health and Wellness of the Communities we serve by providing Quality, Compassionate, Respectful Health Care that is Culturally Sensitive and Interactive.
Vision
To be a Leader in providing High Quality, Patient-Centered Care nationally recognized for improving the Health and Well-being of the Individuals, the Families and the communities we serve.

Previous documents, from the CBA