Expanded Seaside health clinic now open.

After four years of planning and a hiccup over costs, the newly constructed Seaside Family Health Center officially opened to patients on July 3.

In 2013 the Monterey County Health Department's Clinic Services partnered with Montage Health, the parent company of the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula, to bring the new clinic with expanded services to the community.

Originally the plan was to remodel the old clinic, located at 1150 Fremont Blvd. A budget was set at $3 million to add in more exam rooms and a dental suite.

But a year into the planning process the county and Montage received bids of $8 million, and the project stalled. 

A Jan. 6, 2016 report to the Monterey County Board of Supervisors states that "neither party could recommend in good faith to their respective boards to support that project."

The remodeling plan was scuttled, and a plan to build an entirely new building, at 1156 Fremont Blvd. just behind the old one—at a cost of $10 million—gained traction.

Montage agreed to purchase the land behind the old clinic and construct the new building. 

At the Jan. 6, 2016, meeting supervisors approved a plan to lease back the building at a cost not to exceed $37,555 per month. The also approved the establishment of a fund of up to $6.8 million to contribute to new building improvements. 

The new clinic is more than 70-percent larger than the old facility at nearly 20,000 square feet, and includes 32 exam rooms, five rooms for patient education and group activities, a spacious waiting area and a child play area.

The clinic also includes a dental suite provided through a partnership with Clinica de Salud del Valle de Salinas.

At a groundbreaking ceremony in September 2016, county officials said that the Seaside clinic saw more than 47,500 patient visits in 2015, making it a key part of the community's health-delivery system.

Despite opening to patients this week, the project still has a ways to go before it's completed. The old building is set to be demolished to make way for a new parking lot, according to the Monterey County Health Department.

For now, patients will access the new clinic from an entry off of Hilby Avenue. 

The entire project is expected to be finished by this fall, with a grand opening for the public planned afterward.