Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente has announced it will buy 18 acres of land within a closed rail yard in downtown Sacramento for a major new hospital, according to the Sacramento Bee.
Here are five things to know about the purchase, as outlined in the report.
1. Kaiser Permanente will become the first commercial enterprise to buy land in the rail yard since the final Union Pacific workers pulled out in 1999.
2. The healthcare giant has yet to discuss the cost of a new hospital at the rail yard or the amount it's paying for the land, but the pending Kaiser hospital is expected to be among the biggest construction jobs Sacramento has seen in years.
3. Some speculate the project may replace Kaiser's main Sacramento hospital on Morse Avenue, which will need a major overhaul to meet earthquake specifications no later than 2030, but the hospital chain won't confirm, according to the Bee.
4. The recent rail yard purchase continues Kaiser's investment in downtown Sacramento, as the system purchased a six-story, 195,000-square-foot building close to the rail yard last year, which it intends to use as a medical office building.
5. Ron Groepper, senior vice president and area manager for Kaiser, made a statement about the purchase, saying, "We are excited about the potential that this land holds for a new hospital."
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