When Sutter Health decided to locate an expansive healthcare clinic at a site in Santa Clara, California, across the street from roller coasters and other thrill rides, the organization knew its patients and doctors would need protection from the noise.
Sutter Health hired Salter, a consulting firm that specializes in acoustics, to retrofit the former tech offices that will soon become the healthcare company's East Santa Clara campus, located less than a mile from Levi’s Stadium, the home field of the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers.
Salter advised Sutter Health on the installation of “advanced vibration and sound isolation” measures that will help provide a sense of calm for patients and limit the effects the project's neighbors might have on sensitive imaging equipment and medical procedures, according to HGA, the project's architect.
“We reimagined former tech offices into a healthcare hub that seamlessly blends advanced clinical services with the warmth and hospitality of a community space,” Karva Sykes, managing principal and project manager at architecture firm HGA, said in a statement.
The first building at the Sutter Health East Santa Clara campus opened last month. In December 2024, Sutter Health and its partner, Palo Alto Foundation Medical Group, leased about 1 million square feet from the complex owner, the Sobrato Organization. Since then, the organizations have updated the properties for use as healthcare clinics. Two remain under construction, and Sutter Health is considering its options for a fourth building on the campus, according to a spokeswoman for HGA.
The East Santa Clara complex is expected to be completed by late 2026. A nearby property, the Sutter Health West Santa Clara campus, is also under renovation with completion expected in 2027.
The buildings date to the early 1980s, when they were known as Mission Technology Park and provided office space to Silicon Valley tech companies like the data storage firm EMC.
Sobrato acquired the buildings in 2010 and hired Studios Architecture to renovate them into modern office space with laboratories and research areas.
After agreeing with Sobrato to lease space at the complex, Sutter Health hired HGA to make the properties suitable for healthcare. The first building to reopen, with 103,000 square feet, will house primary care clinics, an imaging department, an ambulatory surgery center, cardiology care, laboratories and urgent care.
“A centralized waiting space provides diverse seating options in woven and coated, easy-to-clean fabrics that balance comfort, durability and style,” HGA said in a description of the main entrance lobby. “Clear wayfinding strategies, standardized layouts and distinct color schemes for each clinic allow for efficient navigation and improved workflow.”
The office park still retains some elements of its origin as a hub for high-tech companies. Nvidia, a designer of computer chips used to power artificial intelligence, occupies space at the Sutter Health Santa Clara East campus at 2421 Mission College Blvd. Nvidia’s lease expires in 2032, according to CoStar data.
As for the roller coasters and thrill rides, California’s Great America, an amusement park owned by Six Flags Entertainment, is across the road from the Sutter Health East Santa Clara campus. Great America is slated to close in the next few years; Prologis acquired the real estate underneath the theme park and may redevelop the site. Prologis bought the property from Cedar Fair before its merger with Six Flags.
Sutter Health, based in Sacramento, has other projects in the pipeline in the Bay Area. The organization wants to construct a $1 billion hospital on a 12-acre site in Emeryville to replace its 339-bed Alta Bates hospital in Berkeley. Sutter Health expects to open 27 ambulatory surgery centers in Northern California by 2027.
For the record
DPR Construction was the general contractor.