Want to own your office, doc?
By Wat Takeshita
Independent Journal Takeshita
People in health-care professions and related businesses who now rent office space have a chance to own their own offices and take advantage of the tax and other benefits associated with ownership.
The opportunity comes in the form of a condominium office complex, the Diablo Hill Medical Center, under construction in Novato on 2.77 acres of land at the corner of Diablo and Hill Roads. It is located between Novato Community Hospital and Hill Convalescent Hospital.
Developer Anton Selkowitz of Corte Madera said Diablo Hill Medical Center is a $4 million dollar project to be completed about September. The center will have six buildings one and two stories with a total of 30,000 square feet of floor space.
The buildings will have elevators, fire sprinklers, soundproofing and the latest in energy efficient construction. All offices will be individually heated and air conditioned. The exteriors will have tongue-and-groove redwood siding, aluminum, mansard roofs and solar bronzed windows.
A landscaped parking area will contain 146 spaces.
Selkowitz said he believes this is the first medical condominium built in Marin. “Medical professionals and those in ancillary businesses can buy their own offices.” Selkowitz said. “Since we have six seperate buildings, groups can get together and buy their own building.” The buildings range in size from 4,000 to 8,000 square feet.
He said the size of an office is flexible because each building can be partitioned in many ways. The office condos will sell for approximately $165 to $185 per square foot, which includes carpeting, cabinets, reception area, bathrooms, plumbing and tiled entryways. All offices will have two entrances, one for patients and one for the doctor. Included in the price are specialized office planning and custom design services.
“We have to 90 percent financing.” Selkowitz said. One loan program is a 20 year amortized loan, the other a 10 year loan with a 30 year amortization. Both loans are have a guaranteed first year interest rate of 11.75 percent. After that, the rate is adjusted annually on the basis of the one-year Treasury Bill Index. The developer said both loans are assumable.
Owners of medical office condominiums get the same tax advantages as owners of any commercial or income producing property. Interest on loans, taxes, and depreciation are deductible.
“There are many advantages,” Selkowitz said, ticking them off: “Pride of ownership, have the office designed to your specifications with the help of a professional space planner, and appreciation on resale.”
He said Diablo Hill Medical Center will feature a commanding view, has high visibility and excellent freeway access, and is in the population center of Novato.
“In many cases, it is less expensive to buy than to rent,” he said.
Selkowitz has been in the construction business for 16 years, starting in Connecticut and building custom homes in San Francisco. For the last six years, he has lived in Corte Madera, where he can be reached at 924-0735. The sales consultant for Diablo Hill Medical Center is James Petray, 499-1826.
Contractor on the center is Compleat Builders of Emeryville; the architect, Michael O’Brien of San Francisco, and civil engineers, Stuber-Stroeh Associates of Novato.
Selkowitz also is developing 50 single family homes at Pacheco Ranch Estates, a 103 acre project at the end of Rowland Boulevard in Novato.