Healthcare is moving into the heart of everyday life, literally. In recent years, there has been a steady increase in the integration of retail and healthcare environments, particularly with medical office buildings (MOBs) positioned within or around retail centers. This convergence is driven by evolving patient expectations, demographic shifts, and the pressing need for healthcare systems to find cost-effective, accessible ways to deliver care.
From an architectural and planning perspective, these blended spaces present a powerful opportunity to design environments that prioritize convenience, comfort, and dignity, while also meeting the clinical needs of modern medical practice.
Why Retail Works for Healthcare
The migration of healthcare services into retail centers is more than a trend, it’s a strategic response to evolving consumer needs and real estate conditions. Retail properties offer strong infrastructure, parking capacity, and visibility, making them inherently attractive to healthcare providers looking for affordable, adaptable locations.
For patients, especially older adults or those with mobility limitations, the convenience is hard to beat. Retail spaces often provide ground-level access, short walking distances, and intuitive circulation. When compared to navigating a hospital campus, the experience is often easier, quicker, and less stressful.
Medical uses that thrive in these settings include outpatient surgery centers, rehabilitation clinics, imaging centers, dental offices, fertility services, and dialysis clinics. Moving these services out of hospital campuses and into consumer-friendly locations not only reduces cost, but it also aligns with patients’ desire for healthcare that feels more integrated into their daily lives.
Blending Hospitality and Healthcare
Designing medical spaces within retail environments requires balancing two very different experiences: the professionalism of healthcare with the approachability of consumer spaces. Patients today expect medical environments to reflect the same level of comfort and hospitality they find in other parts of their lives.
Design strategies to achieve this balance include:
- Welcoming reception areas that feel warm and accessible
- Soothing color palettes and soft lighting
- Incorporating natural materials and biophilic elements, such as indoor plants, wood finishes, and nature-inspired artwork
- Use of natural light and water features to create calming atmospheres
These elements, common in hospitality and residential design, help reduce anxiety and enhance the overall healthcare experience.
Ensuring Privacy and Access
While comfort is important, healthcare environments must also meet strict requirements for privacy, accessibility, and functionality. Retail-adjacent MOBs must carefully account for the unique flow of patients, staff, and visitors.
Creating clearly separated entries and circulation zones are less of an issue for new buildings constructed on pad sites. In existing inline retail spaces, however, privacy must be addressed internally through layout, zoning, and signage.
Core planning strategies include:
- Direct, ADA-compliant access from parking or drop-off zones
- Covered entryways to accommodate patients with mobility needs
- Accessible parking located close to building entrances
In shared environments, vestibules, sound separation, and operational scheduling can also help reduce overlap between medical and retail users. Many clinics operate outside of peak shopping hours, which naturally limits congestion and supports a more private experience.
Enhancing Experience Through Placemaking
To ensure long-term success, integration must go beyond mere proximity. The concept of placemaking (designing spaces that invite engagement and repeat visits) applies equally to healthcare and retail environments.
By activating public areas with landscaping, outdoor seating, public art, and pedestrian-friendly design, planners can elevate a basic mixed-use site into a true destination. Walkability between medical and retail tenants supports casual browsing, socializing, and repeat visits, effectively turning a one-time medical trip into a richer, more engaging experience.
This symbiotic relationship also benefits tenants:
- Patients may stay for coffee, lunch, or light shopping after an appointment.
- Retailers enjoy increased weekday foot traffic generated by medical visits.
- Healthcare facilities gain from being in vibrant, active settings that support their brand.
These outcomes enhance both the function and appeal of the overall development, creating communities that are accessible, welcoming, and worth returning to.
Looking Ahead
As the population ages and healthcare becomes more embedded in everyday routines, designing spaces that fit seamlessly into lifestyle settings will be critical. Healthcare design must continue to prioritize flexibility, user experience, and placemaking principles that respond to real patterns of use. The future is about designing adaptable environments that align with how people live, shop, and seek care. That includes considering how patients arrive, how they wait, how they move, and how they feel throughout their visit. Retail-adjacent medical office buildings offer a promising model and partnering with a designer who understands both retail dynamics and the complexities of urban infill ensures that these healthcare spaces are not only functional and accessible, but also seamlessly integrated into the fabric of the communities they serve.
Anthony Cataldo
Anthony Cataldo, LEED AP BD+C, is COO of Lowney Architecture, a multidisciplinary architecture and design firm with offices in Los Angeles, Oakland, and Honolulu. Anthony has more than two decades of experience in commercial architecture, including medical, hospitality, industrial, workplace, residential and mixed-use projects. He can be reached at [email protected].
