The physicians group that attempted earlier this year to buy the former Woman’s Hospital campus on Airline Highway has shut down its local office near Jefferson Highway and is no longer retaining the public relations consultant who was speaking for the group. These developments suggest The Physicians Alliance Corp., which in August let expire the option it had signed in May to acquire the property, is no longer trying to salvage the deal. After the deal fell through, Glen Duncan, then a spokesman for the group, told Daily Report that TPAC was still very much interested in acquiring the 24-acre campus at Airline and Goodwood Boulevard, and hoped to soon have an announcement. At the time, he said difficulty with financing was the main reason the group let its option expire. Duncan is no longer working for TPAC. Ken Cranor, TPAC president, would not discuss the deal in detail, saying: “I think the most accurate thing to say is we did not close the deal.” However, Cranor notes TPAC still has a Baton Rouge office and “we continue to evaluate any and all options that are available to us.” Realtor Beau Box, who is listing the property, says several potential buyers are interested in the campus, which has a $19 million sticker price, but he doesn’t expect a deal to be finalized anytime soon. Box declined to comment further, but industry experts point out that financing for a project of that size and scope is difficult because of the estimated $30 million to $40 million in operating capital that would be needed. —Stephanie Riegel
Editor’s note: This story has been updated since its original publication to include comments from TPAC President Ken Cranor.
