By Sal Christ
One surprising factor contributed to a push for big renovations currently underway at Lovelace Medical Center near Downtown Albuquerque: physician recruitment.
Launched recently, the about $1 million, 120,000-square-foot project will completely makeover the parking structure at the Downtown area hospital, located at 601 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. NE, allowing for easier access for patients and hospital employees.
The parking garage at Lovelace Medical Center near Downtown is undergoing renovations to allow for easier access for patients, employees and hospital visitors.
"We’ve had an issue with our employees parking off site. We want easy access for our employees and our patients. We also want to continue to recruit physicians to our office buildings on the campus, and not having easy access via the parking garage has been frustrating," said Jarren Garrett, chief operations officer for LMC. While Garrett couldn't quantify how much of an issue parking has been in recruitment, he said it was a factor.
Brian McDonald, director of maintenance for LMC, said the project has been in the works for a couple of years, but hasn't launched sooner because the hospital didn't know if it would tear the garage down and rebuild or just renovate the space. Engineering firm Bohannan Huston Inc. and local construction company, Mount Corp., have been tapped for the project.
The new structure is expected to open in late January or early February 2016. McDonald said that more than 240 spots will be available after the project is completed, and free valet parking will remain available after the project's completion.
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