Edgehill Town Center in Gloucester Court House will welcome a large dialysis center next spring. 

 

Fresenius Medical Care North America, headquartered in Waltham, Mass., announced Tuesday that it plans to open a 10,800-square-foot facility at Edgehill.

 

The addition of Fresenius to Edgehill Town Center will be good for the community, according to Jim Hall of Riva, Md., one of the center’s owners. He owns the center with his brother Fred Hall of Richmond, and their nieces Susannah Hogge of Gloucester, Elizabeth Robson of Sterling, and Rebecca Dodelin of Alexandria.

 

Fresenius began its North American operations in 1996, corporate spokesman Jon Stone said, and has more than 2,000 locations in this country. Its international operations are based in Frankfurt, Germany.

 

Fresenius is a major provider of kidney dialysis services and renal care products, its website said, as well as dialysis care services, education and support for chronic kidney disease, and also manufactures and distributes a variety of dialysis products at other sites.

 

Stone said he was not certain how many employees will work at the new facility.

 

Walter Alford, agent and contractor for Alford Realty Company of Mathews, said his company and subcontractors retrofitted the space that previously housed a bicycle shop into a 3,000-square-foot office suite at the eastern end of the center for Dr. Joseph Leming and his Courthouse Family Practice that opened this spring. A 2,800-square-foot courtyard—enhanced by a fountain and planters—is located adjacent to the medical office.

 

This fall, several other tenants—Diggs School of Dance, Office Supply of Gloucester and Computers Plus—relocated from leased space at the western end of the center to share the 10,000 square feet of the former Sears Hometown Store. That move, Alford said, was important as it freed up space to accommodate the dialysis center that sought a lot of window space to let sunlight shine in on its patients.

 

Also in the works are planned renovations to the 3,500-square-foot Laurel Shelter Thrift Store and 10,000-square-foot Roberts Furniture, Alford said, which should be completed in 2015.

 

That same year, Alford said, he expects to complete second floor space atop Office Supply and Roberts Furniture that can accommodate 8-10 apartments or professional offices. Entry and parking for those units will be to the rear of the center.

 

Plans have not been finalized for the approximately 5,000-square-foot annex that houses several small businesses, Alford said, and currently there are more than 3,000 square feet of space available for lease at the existing medical center which houses Dr. Leming’s office.

 

Alford is coordinating all exterior improvements, while some tenants are handling their own interior improvements.