Hilo Medical Building sold to Montecito
One of the nation's largest privately held companies focused on acquiring medical real estate has purchased the two-story Hilo Medical Building on the Big Island.
Houston-based Montecito Medical Investment Group, which owns more than $500 million in medical-related real estate nationwide, last month acquired the 22,751-square-foot building at 45 Mohouli St. for $10.7 million. The seller is Honolulu-based GLACS LLC.
Hawaii Health Systems Corp., the state's quasi-public hospital system, has a five-year lease on the building and an additional five-year option, and will expand the outpatient services of its subsidiary, Hilo Medical Center, to the new facility by April. The building was built in 1996.
PM Realty Group represented both parties in the sale.
Medical office space is extremely tight in the Hilo area with most buildings occupied solely by an owner or single tenant, said Matthew Bittick, PM Realty's senior vice president of investment sales and leasing.
"You're finding medical groups buying and building their own buildings because they can't find medical office space in that area," Bittick said.
The lack of professional office space is among the reasons doctors cite when turning down an offer to work at Hilo Medical Center, said Ron Schurra, chief executive officer for Eastern region of HHSC.