CLEARLAKE, Calif. — During a special Thursday morning meeting, the Clearlake City Council voted unanimously to sell a property at the former Pearce Field airport property to Adventist Health Clear Lake to build a medical facility, a $50 million investment expected to boost the city’s economic development and its health outcomes.

“As you know, this is something that’s been a long time coming,” City Manager Alan Flora told the council, noting during the meeting the challenges that led to finalizing the agreement.

During the meeting, which ran just under 20 minutes, the only item was the council’s consideration of the agreement to sell to Adventist three acres of property at the former airport located at 6820, 6840 and 6860 Old Highway 53, just north of Airport Road.

The purchase price: $1.

That’s in exchange for Adventist’s commitment to invest tens of millions of dollars to build the facility, plus millions more that the new clinic is expected to draw as it helps draw tenants for the commercial center the city is developing at the site.

On the three-acre property, Adventist Health plans to build a 38,000 square foot rural health clinic that would provide a wide range of medical services including family medicine, pediatrics and various specialties.

It’s expected that the new facility, once it opens in 2026, would draw up to 165,000 patient visits per year and anchor a major new commercial development at the site.

The location puts the new facility just across Highway 53 from its main hospital building.

While there’s not a commitment at this time, City Manager Alan Flora said the city is reserving an additional 10 acres in the event Adventist Health Clear Lake wants to do additional development there.

He pointed out that in the sales agreement, possible new development could include an imaging center and even a new hospital.

Flora said that, in reserving the property for that potential use, the city is giving Adventist Health Clear Lake timelines. If Adventist decides to go another direction, that will free up the land.

It was a little over five years ago that the city began discussions with Adventist Health Clear Lake about the possibility of having them be one of the anchors of this development, Flora said.

“Finally the first piece of that is coming together and is before you for consideration today,” he said.

Adventist is the largest employer in the city and probably the most important contributor to health and well being in Clearlake and throughout the county, said Flora, adding that the city is happy to partner with them.

“They really live out the vision that they express,” he said, adding, “There’s a lot more good things to come, starting with this project here.”

The purchase and sale agreement is the first step, he said.

A major investment

Flora said Adventist Health is prepared to move forward with developing the medical office building, which he said will be a $50 million investment from Adventist Health.

The city is committing to do the environmental review and provide the infrastructure to the site, Flora said.

During escrow, a number of things need to happen, including starting environmental review, which Flora said will consist of a full environmental impact report, or EIR, due to the size of the project.

An EIR is the highest level of review under the California Environmental Quality Act, and Flora said the city will complete it not just for the medical facility but also for the larger city owned property, which totals just a little over 40 acres. That environmental review is expected to start in the new year.

The 165,000 annual patient visits it’s expected to draw will be important for the additional retail development as part of the overall complex, Flora said.

Flora recognized Mayor Russell Perdock and Councilman Dirk Slooten for their work on the project over the years, as well as Colleen Assavapisitkul, president of Adventist Health Clear Lake, and Judson Howe, network president of North Coast Network at Adventist Health for their efforts.

Assavapisitkul thanked the council members for their consideration of Adventist’s proposal to do the work in collaboration with the city. “It’s an honor for us to be able to be at this point and do this work.”

Howe thanked the city for entrusting the care of their neighbors to Adventist, noting that it’s a real privilege. He also thanked Flora for providing a vision for the project moving forward.

“Serving our community is something we wake up every morning to do,” said Howe, adding that they serve communities with big health inequities.

Councilmember Joyce Overton asked how many new employees the new facility would have.

Howe estimated that, based on the patient visits, it would be about 75 full-time equivalents, with the actual employee number possibly being greater.

In addition to physicians, jobs would include a variety of positions such as environmental services and nutrition, with hourly pay ranging from $25 to $75 an hour, Howe said.

“It’s been a long time coming. This is so exciting for the city. Your investment in the community will spur economic growth. All the health statistics will become better and I’m so excited about it,” said Slooten.

He said the city and Adventist started the discussion quite some time ago. “We’ve been patient,” said Slooten, adding that on Thursday they could finally announce it.

Perdock said people in the city have been waiting for something to happen at the old airport site for growth and vision, and to be a big boost for the economy, and it’s been so long in coming. “I just want to thank you for partnering with us.”

He asked the Adventist team to give an idea of the project’s scale and scope.

Howe said primary care will be a key focus, along with behavioral health, addiction medicine and specialty services.

Assavapisitkul said that as they design the building, they are considering other services such as surgical and women’s care services. While the plans aren’t finalized yet, she said they are looking at what will be most beneficial to the community at that location.

Overton asked if there are any plans for a detox center there, which she said is a major need for those with mental health issues as well as the unhoused in the community. She said she hoped they put it in their plans.

Howe said they want to address those issues in their care continuum and are committed to that conversation.

Conrad Colbrandt, president of the Redbud Health Care District, thanked the council and Flora for their tenacity. He said the project would have never happened without Assavapisitkul, Howe and Eric Stevens, president of the Northern California Network and Hawaii State Network, pushing the effort from the corporate side.

“It’s going to be a great thing for health care in Clearlake and south Lake County,” Colbrandt said, adding it will also benefit patients and help recruit more physicians.

Colbrandt said the facility will be a great anchor tenant, and with its number of annual visits, should help the city fill out the sites at the commercial development.

Flora in turn noted that Colbrandt had “a little bit of tenacity” as well in the process.

Slooten moved to approve the sale agreement, with Councilman Russ Cremer seconding and the council voting 5-0.

After the vote, Flora said they had meant to go to the site for a picture but, due to the rainy weather, they instead planned to have the city and hospital representatives take a picture there at the council chambers with a photo of the new hospital sign at the property as a backdrop.

Flora said City Clerk Melissa Swanson had the agreement so everyone could sign it.

That was followed by a round of applause.

Key anchor projects

In a followup statement issued on Thursday evening, Adventist Health Clear Lake said that, “With a focus on providing exceptional patient care, the clinic will feature a significant number of exam rooms to accommodate the growing healthcare needs of the community. This expansion of rural health services will alleviate the crowded conditions in the existing clinics and will help to improve access to primary care as well as other specialized services to address specific medical conditions.”

"We are thrilled to embark on this partnership with the city of Clearlake," Assavapisitkul said in the written statement. “Lake County has been persistently ranked in the bottom tier of the state of California for health outcomes and health factors. By establishing this new rural clinic, we are working to meet the healthcare demands of the community to change that statistic while contributing to the local economy. This collaboration will undoubtedly enhance the overall well-being of Clearlake residents.”

Also quoted in the statement was Perdock, who said that the city’s partnership with Adventist Health “is a significant step forward in our commitment to provide increased healthcare services to our community.”

He added, “The new clinic will not only create job opportunities but also improve the quality of life for our residents and businesses. The clinic will also serve as one of the key anchors in our upcoming redevelopment of Pearce Field along with the Fairfield Inn and Suites and additional retail attractions to be announced soon.”

In July 2021, the council approved the sale of two and a half acres of the airport property to MLI Associates LLC, owned by Matt Patel, for the 75-room Fairfield Inn by Marriott hotel, with a meeting hall and event center.

That project — and the city’s plans for a new road project on 18th Avenue — hit obstacles in the form of a lawsuit filed against the city in March year by the Koi Nation of Northern California, who faulted the city’s environmental review because it adopted a mitigated negative declaration rather than completing an EIR, and arguing that the city didn’t properly consult with the tribe.

The case was argued before Judge Michael Lunas on Oct. 20. On Nov. 20, Lunas ruled in the city’s favor, finding for the city on all of its arguments, among them, that it was within its rights in making the environmental determination, that its decisions were based on facts and that the city had properly consulted with the tribe.

City officials expect that ruling to clear the way for the road and hotel project to resume.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.