Property for planned Phoebe Putney Health System distribution center sold

ALBANY — Ten acres of land at the Newton Road Pecan Grove Corporate Park that Phoebe Putney Health System agreed to purchase for $15,000 per acre in August 2013 with plans to build a 100,000-square-foot medical supply distribution center were sold to another business two months ago, officials from Phoebe confirmed.

Phoebe officials said when they initially purchased the land that the project was put into development as a means to bring in medical supplies for health care facilities throughout Southwest Georgia at an overall cheaper cost. Some time later, they said Friday, another opportunity to meet the same goal arose that was determined to be more efficient.

“Recognizing that there was not an adequate warehousing solution in this part of the state and needing a facility to service all of the Phoebe locations, we chose to purchase the warehouse at Pecan Grove Industrial Park when the opportunity arose. However, before completing the project, we learned an existing distribution co-op with which we had a business relationship planned to build a large new facility south of Atlanta,” Jessica Castle, vice president of marking at Phoebe, said in a statement to The Albany Herald. “We determined that it would be more efficient and economical to join the existing distribution co-op given its more convenient new location.

“Therefore, when we had an opportunity to sell the facility to a local business owner who wanted to purchase and use the warehouse to bring business to the industrial park, we felt it was a win-win.”

Castle said the property was sold on Jan. 7.

Last year, Phoebe CEO Joel Wernick said the health system would partner with other hospitals in the region to share in driving down health care costs through the use of the distribution center, noting that patients would benefit by Phoebe finding ways to buy things cheaper.