Meritage Medical Network relocating headquarters to Sonoma County
Meritage Medical Network, originally started as a Marin County group of physicians, plans to relocate its main office to Sonoma County at the beginning of the new year.
The health care network now has over 2,000 physicians and other providers serving more than 100,000 patients in six North Bay and Central Valley counties under managed care and value-based contracts.
The group has signed a lease for 18,490 square feet of former Ygrene Energy Fund space in 2000 S. McDowell Blvd., Suite 110, at South Petaluma Business Center in Petaluma. The head offices currently are in about 20,000 square feet in Hangar 4 at the Hamilton Landing office complex in Novato.
“We are really looking forward to our new location in the center of the North Bay,” said Wojtek Nowak, CEO at Meritage Medical Network, said in a statement. “Our team currently works across a combination of remote, hybrid and in-office arrangements. The new, more contemporary offices will provide the flexibility, collaborative and private spaces, and onsite amenities we need to better serve our customers, connect our team members, and give us room to grow as we expand our business.”
The company has a headquarters staff of over 170, but most have been working remotely since the first pandemic public health orders in California began in March 2020, according to Yaquelin Flores, strategy and communications manager.
Only 10% of them are coming into the office at any one time, Flores told the Business Journal on Jan. 3, 2023. The company was operating in the Petaluma location as of Jan. 1.
The heritage of Meritage goes back to 1981, when individual practice association Marin IPA was founded as a health maintenance organization. The HMO started with one health plan partner but expanded in the 1990s with several more. In 2004 it officially expanded into Sonoma Valley and in 2005 created Prima Medical Group to recruit and retain primary care physicians throughout Marin County.
In 2007, Marin IPA expanded into Petaluma and became Marin-Sonoma IPA. And in 2013, Marin-Sonoma IPA expanded into Napa County and changed its name to Meritage Medical Network.
In April 2021, Meritage was acquired by London-based Babylon Health, which also picked up First Choice Medical Group in California’s Central Valley.
Glen Dowling and Jordan Lazor of JLL represented Meritage Medical Network in the lease transaction. Brian Foster, Steven Leonard and Trevor Buck of Cushman & Wakefield represented Basin Street Properties.
Jeff Quackenbush covers wine, construction and real estate. Before coming to the Business Journal in 1999, he wrote for Bay City News Service in San Francisco. Reach him at jquackenbush@busjrnl.com or 707-521-4256.
Update, Jan. 3, 2023: Meritage official Yaquelin Flores responded with details on the move.
Update, Dec. 12, 2022: This story has been updated with the history of Meritage Medical Network.
