Business Record Article:
$250 million regional medical campus planned in Urbandale
Total Health Experience will provide a range of ‘patient-centered’ services
By Kathy A. Bolten, Senior Staff Writer
A local radiologist plans to develop a regional medical campus in Urbandale that provides preventive and diagnostic services as well as treatment, the Business Record has learned.
The campus, which will be called Total Health Experience, is planned on 25.3 acres at 9300 Northpark Drive, north of Interstate Highways 35/80 in Urbandale. When completed, the campus will include up to six buildings and up to 300,000 square feet of space. Development costs are estimated at between $200 million and $250 million.
“I’ve been working on this for about 10 years,” said Dr. John Tentinger, president and owner of Innovative Radiology, which will be on the campus and will offer state-of-the-art imaging and diagnostic assessments for the campus’s medical providers.
“If I could describe my vision in one sentence, it would be this: The Total Health Experience is an innovative way to deliver cutting-edge health care utilizing the latest technologies and AI with a compassionate, patient-centered experience and a focus on prevention and early diagnosis.”
Added Tentinger: “We want this to be a patient-centered experience so that patients can optimize their own health and longevity.”
The campus will provide medical care from primary care physicians and medical subspecialties as well as services focused on preventive medicine, wellness and behavioral/mental health, Tentinger said.
“Wellness and prevention is primarily focused on improving sleep, nutrition and exercise,” he said. “There are many new technologies that can help us improve these. We’re working on the programming now.”
K&J Properties LLC, managed by Tentinger and his wife, Kara, purchased the 25.3-acre site in fall 2021 from First Assembly of God Church. The limited liability company paid $5.5 million for the property, which currently is being farmed.
The campus is located in what Urbandale calls the Urban Loop. The area is anchored by a 90-degree bend in I-35/80. Land on either side of the interstate is described as “prime for development” on the city’s website. Recent improvements, including the addition of an interchange at 100th Street and the Iowa Highway 141 flyover ramp, have made the area even more accessible, city officials said.
“Being in the Urban Loop, you have excellent visibility and I-35/80 access, which provides all that regional connectivity,” said Curtis Brown, the city’s assistant city manager. “We are seeing a lot of high-quality development in that area.”
On the north side of Northpark Drive, across the street from where the medical campus is planned, is John Deere Intelligent Solutions Group. To the east are Lean TECHniques, Pella Corp. and the Iowa Bankers Association, which moved into its new building about two years ago.
“We think the medical campus will attract different users and more traffic to the area,” Brown said. “We would expect to see increased amenities in the area as well.”
The campus will be developed around a small lake that will have walking paths around it and places to sit. The lake area will have numerous trees, shrubs and flowering plants, all of which will also be planted around the buildings and in the parking areas. Other amenities are planned on the campus, including a coffee shop and possibly a restaurant or workout facility.
Tentinger is “taking that extra step of creating a place that is special,” said Aaron DeJong, Urbandale’s economic development director. “Today, placemaking is important and all the exterior improvements that are planned will make it a place people will want to go to.”
The Des Moines-Ames-West Des Moines area includes over 719,000 people, 20% of whom are 60 or older, according to U.S. Census data. Another 25% are between 40 and 59 years of age.
People are living longer and the Greater Des Moines population is growing, adding pressure to health care systems, Tentinger said. A new medical campus will help ease some of that pressure, he said.
“Des Moines, in my opinion, is underserved for medicine, in general,” Tentinger said. “There are extended wait times for imaging services, sometimes making patient’s wait over two to three weeks for examinations, even for things such as mammograms and breast biopsies.”
Tentinger said his plan is to invest revenue generated by the campus into additional staff and state-of-the art equipment, both of which will help provide services more quickly to patients.
“I know it’s tough to find employees in the medical field but if we are able to use some of that [revenue] to increase salaries and create an environment where the staff feel appreciated, we will be able to attract more staff,” Tentinger said.
Site work at the campus is expected to begin this fall. Construction on one or more of the medical buildings is expected to begin next spring with completion slated for mid-2025.
Others involved in project
Project management: Sonar Development
Architect: Simonson & Associates
Landscape architect: Genus
General contractor: DCI Group
Civil engineer: CDA
Environmental engineer: Terracon
A little bit about John Tentinger
John Tentinger’s roots are firmly planted in Urbandale.
The radiologist grew up in the community and is a graduate of Urbandale High School. Tentinger and wife Kara’s two daughters are also graduates of the high school.
“I’m a loyal guy who grew up in Urbandale,” Tentinger said. “I think it’s cool that I can bring this development to the ‘U’ that’s provided so much to me and my family.”
Tentinger, 49, graduated from the University of Iowa’s Carver College of Medicine. He initially planned on becoming a pediatrician but changed course after experiencing a little of what the career would entail.
“If you’re a pediatrician, you’re basically doing wellness checks or you’re treating sick kids,” Tentinger said. “I was just sad a lot. It affected me a lot more than I thought it would.”
Tentinger had worked with a radiologist and was fascinated by the work. He did his residency in radiology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
“It’s one of the best decisions I have made,” he said. “I get to work with physicians. I get to do a lot of procedures. And I get that interaction with patients.”
Tentinger owns the radiology group Advanced Medical Imaging, which provides radiology and diagnostic oversight for Broadlawns Medical Center and Pella Regional Medical Center. He also owns and operates Innovative Radiology, which is in the process of acquiring Alliance Healthcare in West Des Moines.
Innovative Radiology will be located in the 25.3-acre medical campus Tentinger is developing in Urbandale.