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The March Joint Powers Authority (JPA) presented the March Healthcare Development (MHD) principal terms of the Disposition and Development Agreement (DDA) to the public during a monthly study session. The terms were presented by Gerald Trimble, of Keyser Marston and Associates—advisor to the JPA. Keyser Marston has over 35 years experience and is the West Coast’s top advisor for public- private partnerships. The firm has represented the JPA for over ten years.

The March LifeCare Campus encompasses over 3.5 million square feet. The 144 acre, threephase development includes: hospitals, outpatient facilities, medical office buildings, and retail. At a cost of $3.3 billion (in 2010 dollars), Trimble described the ratio between the amount subsidized ($20.5M) and the amount returned ($273M) as, “One of the best we’ve seen. Normally 10/1 is considered good and this exceeds that.”

In addition to the significant return on investment, the benefits of the March LifeCare Campus to the agency and surrounding community were listed as 12,700 construction jobs, and 7,200 full-time healthcare and related jobs.

Councilman Andy Melendrez from Riverside stressed the importance of hiring locally to address the high unemployment in the region.

Trimble stated the project has “significant economic benefit to the agency” and this is an “incentive to move the project forward.”

Several JPA members expressed an interest in protecting the public’s interest as the project moves along, and Chair Richard Stewart from Moreno Valley stated the goal is “to make sure the process is transparent to the public and the press.”

Trimble described the improvements which will be made to the property as “greatly enhancing” its value. “The developer is not just turning the land around,” he stated, stressing the twenty year plus MHD commitment to the project.

The presentation concluded with a description of the first class team put together by MHD, including HOK, the top architectural design firm in the country, and McCarthy Building Companies, a top producer of hospitals in California. Both have extensive portfolios in health care facility design and construction.

Plans for March LifeCare call for it to become America’s first ‘health & wellness’ city with medical, retail, leisure, cultural, and educational facilities all in one master-planned community. March LifeCare is an integral component of the JPA’s General Plan for base reuse that was also presented at meeting.