Joe Simone Views Outdated Malls In Aging Communities As Targets For Retail-To-Medical Conversions
Joseph Simone of Simone Development Companies said more outdated malls in U.S. suburbs will become targets of retail-to-medical conversion.
“As the suburbs mature, the proportion of senior citizens—the biggest medical services consumers—increases, so healthcare providers are scrambling to identify high-traffic locations with ample parking. In many cases, the ideal locations are shopping centers with low occupancy,” said Joseph Simone, President of Simone Development Companies.
Fortune magazine recently noted that 32 enclosed malls nationwide house healthcare services as part of their footprint. Nearly a third of the malls’ medical transformations have been announced since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the magazine noted.
Converting foundering shopping centers into medical destinations makes sense for many suburbs built in the 1970s where young families with children no longer predominate. Centereach, N.Y. is one community that saw its population explode in the 1970s.
Changing demographics in Centereach led Simone Development Companies to consider new uses for its retail building. After a market analysis, Simone Development Companies—a retail-to-medical conversion specialist—recently broke ground on Catholic Health Ambulatory & Urgent Care. The new complex will house a multi-specialty practice featuring primary care, women’s health, behavioral health, cardiology, neurosciences, orthopedics, and several other services.
The development will transform a 63,000-square-foot former Ocean State Job Lot retail store located at 2112 Middle Country Road into a new healthcare facility. Catholic Health will lease the new building from Simone and plans to open in the Spring of 2023.
“Throughout the New York metropolitan area, we are seeing health networks announce new conversions of former retail buildings. We will work closely with some of these expanding networks to identify the best locations and secure smooth conversions,” said Joanna Simone, Principal and President of Leasing and Property Management Operations at Simone Development Companies.

“We are thrilled to announce AdaptHealth is expanding their footprint at 1185 Commerce and taking over the full building,” said Josh Gopan, Vice President of Leasing at Simone Development. “AdaptHealth was first attracted to 1185 Commerce Ave in 27,845 square feet and their expansion is a testament to the building’s ideal location as well as its unique characteristics, including 17-foot ceiling heights, loading dock and overhead doors and expansive outdoor space.”
Joseph Simone of Simone Development Companies says that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) focus on behavioral health will drive the design of new healthcare facilities.
Bronx, N.Y. (August 24, 2022)—Health networks’ expansion into new territories and underserved communities is driving retail-to-medical conversions, said Joseph Simone of Simone Development Companies.
Bronx, N.Y. (August 8, 2022)—The New York City region’s burgeoning technology and life sciences sectors are attracting increasing interest from venture capitalists who are leasing new office space to be closer to innovation hubs, says Joseph Simone of Simone Development Companies.
NEW ROCHELLE, NY – August 3, 2022 – 
Joseph Simone, President of Simone Development Companies, said that a new analysis of the urgent care sector predicting continued growth through 2029 will lead to more investments in real estate.
BRONX, NY – June 27, 2022 –
BRONX, NY (June 28, 2022) – Simone Development Companies has announced that Matthew Holst, AIA, LEED AP, a veteran real estate professional with more than two decades of experience holding senior management positions, has joined the company as Chief Operating Officer.
CENTEREACH, NY (June 13, 2022) – Simone Healthcare Development, Catholic Health and Ocean State Job Lot today joined with officials from the Town of Brookhaven and Suffolk County for a groundbreaking ceremony signifying the official start of construction by Simone Healthcare Development for Catholic Health Ambulatory & Urgent Care at Centereach, a new multi-specialty practice featuring primary care, women’s health, behavioral health, cardiology, neurosciences, orthopedics and several other services.