El Dorado County to purchase buildings from Barton Health in South Lake Tahoe

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - El Dorado County staff has been looking for a building(s) to purchase in South Lake Tahoe in order to bring services together. Action during Tuesday's Board of Supervisors meeting solidified that plan.

The County has agreed to purchase 1111 and 1119 Emerald Bay Road, currently owned by Barton Health and formerly used as Barton Education, Language Access Services, Customer Service, and Physician Billing departments.

The price tag was $7,500,000 for the two parcels are 77,101 square feet which contain four commercial buildings totaling approximately 17,473 square feet.

El Dorado County will be moving Health and Human Services (HHSA) to the new location which is closer to Barton Hospital. Also moving in will be Planning and other services/offices that are currently at the 895 Emerald Bay Road building that the County has been leasing. Possibly the Recorder Clerk's office will move in as well as others.

The 17,473 square feet is over twice the size of the El Dorado Center at the corner of Takela Drive and Lake Tahoe Blvd. There were plans to tear that down and remodel but became costly and wouldn't meet their needs. The County will now sell that building and proceeds will go towards the purchase costs of the Y buildings, according to Supervisor Sue Novasel.

"Barton Health has developed a long-term strategy to best serve the expanding healthcare needs of our community and region through a dual-campus expansion," said Thea Hardy, public relations specialist at Barton Health.

Hardy said the team members from the affected departments whose offices were on Emerald Bay Road have been relocated to existing offices within the Barton campus or will continue to work remotely based on the needs of their department.

"These services continue to be available to meet the needs of our community," added Hardy.

No new buildings will be added to the current land. General improvements will be made including interior demising and partition walls for new rooms and spaces, roof and wall insulation, doors, paint, carpet, tile, glazing, rough / finish carpentry, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, life safety, security, and ADA upgrades. The buildings were constructed between 1948 and 1966.

Funding for the County's purchase will come from budget transfers increasing the use of El Dorado Center designation, Tobacco Settlement fund, Public Health Realignment Fund Balance, Capital Designation, and American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, and increasing the Accumulative Capital Outlay budget by $10 million for the addition of the new South Lake Tahoe El Dorado Center project. The Board's approval started the sales process in motion, authorizing an escrow deposit of $200,000.