PCI’s Sundall makes sales pitch for Second Avenue closure

Supporters see a proposed medical mall as the anchor of an emerging medical district that will benefit patients, but the proposal is not without controversy.

To Mike Sundall, CEO of Physicians' Clinic of Iowa, the $44 million project is an opportunity to better provide care, where patients can see a doctor and specialists, undergo tests and meet other medical needs at one site.

Still, Sundall has spent considerable time in recent weeks to overcome one sticking point: the idea to close part of Second Avenue SE.

He is meeting with community groups to let them in on the project's details. Among those is what's driving the plan to close Second Avenue.

With a projected 250 patients per hour and 2,000 patients and visitors per day, Sundall said partially closing the street is needed for safety and parking.

A ramp with 450 parking spaces, plus 450 spaces in surface parking, is envisioned.

Skywalks that could span Second Avenue would cost $750,000 to $1 million each, Sundall said, “so it's almost more cost-efficient for us to pay for a closure of the street than to keep putting up skywalks to connect it.”

PCI's medical mall will cost about $36 million, with an additional $8 million for a parking ramp. Those costs won't be passed along to patients because PCI, like most health practices, operates under a fixed system with insurance companies and Medicare.

Having its five locations in one site, however, will allow PCI to control costs, Sundall said.

Before settling on the site, PCI doctors looked at Westdale Mall and elsewhere. Those sites proved to be less accessible than what was needed, Sundall said.

The group might re-examine building on green space outside the city if Second Avenue is not closed, he said, but would prefer to stay near downtown.

The medical district is expected to have a footprint from St. Luke's Hospital to Mercy Medical Center and from 12th Street SE to some points on Sixth Street SE.