Hershey Medical Center has contracted a developer to construct a new 156,000 square-foot outpatient facility.

The facility, which will be located on the medical center's east campus, will house imaging, neurology, neurosurgery and orthopedics services.

Medical Center spokesman Sean Young said a key goal of the new facility was to be able to treat related problems in one location.

"What's unique about it is it's going to be multidisciplinary," he said.

Young also said those services are currently located in multiple places around campus.

The Medical Center has contracted Lillibridge Health Care Real Estate Trust out of 20 other potential firms to build the facility, Young said. Last Friday, Penn State Board of Trustees approved leasing 22.65 acres to Lillibridge for 29 years at a rate of $8,000 per acre with periodic increases.

Young said Lillibridge would put up the initial capital for the building's construction, allowing the Medical Center to spend its money on other projects, such as the planned construction of a new cancer institute and a children's hospital.

Young said construction of the cancer institute, which will be located on the east campus next to the main hospital, will begin later this year, possibly in late summer.

A date has not been set for the construction of the children's hospital, but Young said an architect has been selected and the building is in design.

Young said the new buildings are part of a larger "master plan" to reorganize the campus.

"The intent is to sort of build a campus that has some structure to it," he said.

Young said the east campus will focus on outpatient services.

Center campus, where the main hospital is located, will focus on inpatient services and emergency services, and west campus will focus on research and academic functions, he said.

Lillibridge Vice President Jack Dudick said the company would begin leasing the new facility back to the medical center once construction is finished. He said the rate of lease would be determined based on construction costs.

Dudick said the medical center would have the option of purchasing the building starting after the 10-year point in the lease. Once the lease ends, Dudick said, the medical center must buy the building.

"They're paying fair market value for the building," he said.

Dudick said the building is expected to be finished in June of 2007, and construction will begin in March once the township approves it. There is no indication of any delays at this stage, Dudick said.

Bill Mahon, university spokesman, said the medical center treats patients from all over Pennsylvania. He added that Penn State students, who already work at the medical center, will make use of the new facility.

Mandy Cylc, Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon family relations chair, said Four Diamonds Fund cancer patients sometimes use outpatient services as part of their cancer treatment plan.

"They come in for treatment and they might go home," she said.