Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • May 18, 2020 • Hartford Business Journal 15 "I don't think any of us really knows yet," he said. Morizio said coronavirus will soften the overall office market in the region, but he largely agrees healthcare properties have a rela- tively stable future ahead. "Medical offices are good here," Morizio said. "That's why the devel- opers, especially the people devel- oping for Hartford HealthCare and Yale New Haven, have been making plenty of money." Little turbulence so far The early signs for the health- care realty market have been good, according to Connecticut's largest medical office landlord, Arizona-based Healthcare Trust of America, which owns approximately 30 buildings totaling more than 1 million square feet across Hartford and New Haven counties. The majority of its U.S. ten- ants are health systems, universities and national provider groups. "The good news is that most of the physicians, … healthcare sys- tems and most of the … tenants have ongoing businesses," HTA's CEO Scott Peters said during the publicly traded company's first-quarter earn- ings call this month. New leasing has slowed during the pandemic, and Healthcare Trust has pressed pause on any new prop- erty acquisitions. It has also been granting concessions for early lease renewals over the past few months. Tenants, from small physician prac- tices to large health systems, have appealed to Healthcare Trust for rent forbearance, but it's a relatively modest amount — 10% of total scheduled rents owed over the next three months. Mean- while, the company said it received virtually all of its non-deferred rent that was due in April. "I think the [medical office] space is going to hold up very well," Peters said. The company, which entered the Connecticut market in 2016 through a $178-million purchase of a medical office portfolio from Casle, did not respond to requests for comment for this story. While Trinity's Eadie is gung-ho about the influence of telemedicine on healthcare real estate, there is plenty of disagreement over the extent of the potential impacts. Healthcare Trust downplays the hype around the technology. "I don't think it replaces [medical office buildings]," said Peterson, who believes telemedicine will be a foot in the door for patients, many of whom will eventually end up in brick-and- mortar doctors' offices. If new medical offices are built, they may look a bit different on the inside, with waiting rooms laid out to promote social distancing between patients, said healthcare architect Ron Goodin of Phase Zero Design in Simsbury. More practices may adopt sepa- rate entrances for sick patients, which is more common at pediatri- cian offices, he said. Urgent care giant plays the waiting game Walk-in urgent care centers have increasingly dotted Connecticut's real estate landscape in recent years. Amid all the activity, Physicia- nOne has emerged as a dominant player in the urgent care space here. The Fairfield County-based company, backed by private equity and other investors, has grown its presence to 16 Connecticut clinics, and 23 in total when including Mas- sachusetts and New York. Most recently, PhysicianOne acquired New England Urgent Care, adding four locations in Greater Hartford to its real estate portfolio. "We've been in a high-growth mode," said CEO Lynne Rosen. The company still has acquisition targets in Connecticut, but decided to halt its M&A activity as it assess- es potential impacts of the ongoing pandemic. "We certainly didn't sign any new leases or close any new deals," Rosen said of the time since the virus struck Connecticut. Still, the long-term impact may be positive for PhysicianOne. Real estate prices in the region have made it more difficult to open clinics in certain desired locations. COVID-19 could change that, if it de- flates property values and demand in heavily trafficked areas. "It may give us the opportunity to expand," Rosen said. "You don't want to wish misfortune on other folks. I think it will open things up." Nicholas Morizio, Hartford President, Colliers International Lynne Rosen, CEO, PhysicianOne Join the team and put your company's best foot forward in this special publication being distributed throughout Connecticut to highschool and college students, workforce centers, manufacturers, business leaders, and company owners. Join us now and be part of the solution! HELP RECRUIT TOMORROW'S MANUFACTURING WORKFORCE IN CT! THANK YOU TO OUR GOLD SPONSORS: COMPANIES THAT HAVE ALREADY JOINED THE MOVEMENT: Follow Cool Stuff Made in Connecticut Stuff Made in CT stuffmadeinct stuffmadein www.stuffmadeinct.com Please contact Sue Lavin for early bird discounts at slavin@hartfordbusiness.com or call 860-236-9998 ext. 128. Join the team and put your company's best foot forward in this special publication being distributed throughout Connecticut to highschool and college students, Join the team and put your company's best foot forward in this special publication being distributed throughout Connecticut to highschool and college students,

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