Decatur, GA — Emory University has announced plans to create a nursing school in the city of Decatur.

The school will occupy four floors and 70,000 square feet of a building at 250 East Ponce de Leon Avenue in Decatur.

“The Emory Nursing Learning Center will act as a hub for students and Emory Healthcare nurses,” Emory University announced in a press release. “The school anticipates an enrollment of 1,400 by 2025, making the extra room vital for developing skills and practicing procedures. The new Simulation and Skills Lab at the center will include mock hospital settings with state-of-the-art equipment. When finished, it will be the largest simulation center in Metro Atlanta.”

Emory is leasing the space from The Dilweg Companies, which owns the building.

“We are thrilled to welcome Emory Nursing to 250 Ponce. Emory School of Nursing plans to create the largest simulation center in Metro Atlanta to provide training and education to health care professionals,” Jerry Banks, Managing Director of Asset Enhancement at The Dilweg Companies, said in a press release. “Adding this high-quality organization brings this asset to 100% leased and demonstrates the success of our strategy to transform and reposition this well-located Class A office asset.”

According to The Dilweg Companies press release, “Scott O’Halloran, Michael Tucker, and Scotland Wright of Scotland Wright Associates represented Emory School of Nursing in the lease negotiation. R. Kirk Rich and Chris Godfrey of Avison Young represented The Dilweg Companies and 250 Ponce in the deal.”

The nursing school plans to open its offices in May of 2021 and the project should be completed by February 2022.

Here is the full announcement from Emory University:

The demand for nurses of all specialties and levels remains extremely high. In an effort to prepare more students for licensure and offer continuing education to practicing nurses, Emory University’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing and Emory Healthcare will add nearly 70,000 square feet of space for teaching in downtown Decatur, Ga. The school will redesign portions of four floors at 250 Ponce (250 E. Ponce de Leon Ave.) with special attention paid to simulation, innovation, and team building.

The Emory Nursing Learning Center will act as a hub for students and Emory Healthcare nurses. The school anticipates enrollment of 1,400 by 2025, making the extra room vital for developing skills and practicing procedures. The new Simulation and Skills Lab at the center will include mock hospital settings with state-of-the art equipment. When finished, it will be the largest simulation center in Metro Atlanta.

“Learning is lifelong, and nowhere is that more evident than in the nursing profession,” said Jon Lewin, executive vice president for health affairs at Emory University and president and CEO of Emory Healthcare. “Both our nursing students and our Emory Healthcare nurses will benefit greatly from the simulation experiences and training conducted in this outstanding space.”

Students in multiple degree programs and class offerings use simulation to learn and sharpen skills. Such spaces include human patient simulator manikins and can be made to resemble hospital or clinic rooms that offer a variety of options to learn and practice.

“Building and maintaining the learning center is a service to the community,” said Linda McCauley, dean of the nursing school. “We can train more nurses that, in turn, can go out and address health care needs and disparities. The COVID-19 pandemic shows everyone the value of nurse education and practice. I’m very excited to see this cutting-edge facility take shape and expand our services beyond campus and traditional sites.”

250 Ponce, owned and operated by The Dilweg Companies, will also serve as the home of Emory Nursing Experience (ENE), which provides continuing education opportunities to nurses in person and online. Five classrooms will complement the Simulation and Skills Lab. A recording studio will support distance education.

Design-build firm The Beck Group will renovate the space in a multi-phase process. Scotland Wright Associates represented the school in the lease negotiation.

“The Beck Group is excited to be partnering with Emory Nursing on this important project,” said Ben Bard, regional director for Beck’s Atlanta office. “During these past few months, we have all seen the significant role health care professionals play in keeping our community safe. Our team understands the important role this facility will play in training the next generation of nurses.”

The Beck Group is the largest integrated design-build firm in Metro Atlanta and specializes in adaptive-reuse projects. Beck recently completed several notable projects in the area, including The Hub at Peachtree Center and The Candler Hotel. Current projects include the Phipps Plaza Mixed-Use Transformation in Buckhead.

The nursing school anticipates opening ENE offices and teaching space May 2021. The project is scheduled to finish by February 2022.

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