Jan. 28--Plans for a 900,000-square-foot Kaiser-Permanente hospital and medical campus on 58 acres north of Interstate 580 in eastern Dublin were confirmed Friday.
Representatives of Colliers International, the real estate firm that represented Kaiser in negotiations, said the land was purchased from the Lin family. The Lins are major property owners in eastern Dublin, which is undergoing rapid residential and commercial development.
The property fronts the freeway on Dublin Boulevard.
Timing of hospital construction was not announced, and officials from the Oakland-based HMO could not be reached for comment late Friday.
Previously, Kaiser officials would say only that it was in negotiations for property somewhere in the Dublin-Livermore area but would not comment on its possible use.
They noted there is currently no mention of a full-blown hospital for the region in Kaiser's 10-year plan, but said they were looking toward future growth and noted the area already has some 80,000 Kaiser members.
Dublin City Councilwoman Kasie Hildenbrand cheered the news.
"We definitely have a need for a facility," she said, noting that there are thousands of Kaiser members in the area.
Councilwoman Claudia McCormick said she was "very pleased" to hear the news. She said one of the council's ongoing goals has been to attract a hospital and medical facilities to the city.
When news of the Kaiser plan surfaced last month, Dublin Mayor Janet Lockhart said a hospital would be good for Kaiser members who can now be seen at clinics in Pleasanton or Livermore but who must get to Walnut Creek or Hayward for hospital care. And with the area's other full-service hospital at ValleyCare Medical Center in Pleasanton, she said it would benefit the entire valley to have emergency rooms on both sides of the freeway.
Kaiser opened a new 70,000-square-foot medical clinic in Livermore in 2003. Earlier this year, it bought four Pleasanton office buildings that were part of the PeopleSoft campus acquired by Oracle. That purchase is allowing Kaiser to consolidate selected departments of its information technology unit at one location.
As part of its current 10-year, $10 billion capital plan, Kaiser has medical centers planned or under construction in Antioch, Modesto, Vallejo and Vacaville.
Times staff writer Sophia Kazmi also contributed to this story. Reach Bonita at [email protected] or 925-847-2120.
