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Ground broken for new cancer center
August 30, 2007 | Daily News of Newburyport
NEWBURYPORT - Members of the City Council, Mayor John Moak and state Sen. Bruce Tarr donned hard hats and held gold shovels, ready to break ground yesterday on the state-of-the-art cancer center at the Newburyport Medical Center.
The large group of people who turned out to witness the milestone in Newburyport's medical community were shuttled to the site by bus.
Officials said the center, designed by architectural and design firm Cube 3 Studio in Lawrence, will feature the first comprehensive cancer treatment facility in the area, officials said, and provide treatment and support groups for more than 150,000 North Shore residents who now have to drive to Boston or farther for treatment.
"Radiation therapy will be available to all members of the community, eliminating the need for patients to drive long distances," said Walt Kagan, president of Commonwealth Hematology-Oncology, the anchor tenant of the 22,000-square-foot building.
Kagan's group is involved with 12 hospitals in eastern and central Massachusetts and opened its first cancer center this year in Weymouth. The Newburyport Cancer Center will be the group's second.
The center is being built on land owned by Tom Jones, a Low Street resident and city councilor. The building will have an access road to Low Street and also connect to Anna Jaques Hospital.
The innovative center, which is expected to cost more than $10 million, will bring the most advanced technology and services to patients, said Dr. Paul Spieler, president of Anna Jaques' medical staff.
Mike Tuccio of Alliance Imaging, which will also be a tenant in the center, stressed the sense of accomplishment those involved in the project feel as construction begins.
President and CEO of Anna Jaques Hospital Delia O'Connor had advocated for the center from the beginning.
"This was the miracle baby none of us were sure we could have," O'Connor said. "Now we just have to get it built."
Images of what the final building will look like were placed on easels next to the podium, allowing a view of what the land will be transformed into in the months ahead. Construction will begin shortly and is estimated to be completed next summer.
"On behalf of my patients who I have been treating, we are grateful," Spieler said.
By Katie Curley, Staff Writer