Denver Project Highlights Outpatient Siting
A planned 150-acre mixed-use development at Denver's Burnham Yard, which will include five distinct districts, exemplifies the type of large-scale project where health systems often co-locate outpatient facilities. Such urban redevelopments create opportunities for imaging centers to gain patient volume from high-traffic community hubs.
- The shift to outpatient imaging is driven by payers aiming to reduce costs; commercial insurers pay on average 254% of what Medicare would for the same hospital-based services. This pricing disparity has led payers like Cigna, UnitedHealthcare, and Anthem to restrict reimbursements for MRIs and CTs performed in hospital outpatient departments. - The U.S. diagnostic imaging services market is projected to grow from $149.54 billion in 2025 to $239.74 billion by 2032, with the Hospital Outpatient (HOPD) segment expected to expand at the highest CAGR. This growth is occurring despite a nationwide shortage of radiologists, with job board positions increasing from 611 in 2010 to over 14,000 in 2022. - Health systems are responding by expanding their freestanding imaging footprint through acquisitions, joint ventures, or building new facilities. Major players like RadNet and SimonMed are pursuing aggressive acquisition strategies, leading to market consolidation and larger, longer-term imaging IT contracts. - The planned Burnham Yard development, the subject of a Large Development Review pre-application, will feature a new privately funded stadium for the Denver Broncos as its centerpiece. The stadium is planned to open in 2031, with construction beginning in 2027 or 2028. - To mitigate staffing shortages and improve efficiency, outpatient centers are often the first to adopt new technology like AI. As of mid-2025, the FDA had approved 115 new radiology AI algorithms, bringing the total to approximately 873, with leading vendors including GE Healthcare, Siemens Healthineers, and Philips. - Mobile imaging is a key strategy for health systems to expand their reach into the community, increase capacity, and offer new modalities without the capital investment of a fixed site. Companies like On-Site Medical Imaging provide a range of mobile diagnostic services, including X-Ray, ultrasound, and EKG, to patients in various settings. - Advanced modalities are leading imaging growth, with projections over the next decade showing a 23% increase for PET, 16% for ultrasound, and 15% for CT exams. The utilization of CT and MRI specifically is forecast to grow from a 21% share of all U.S. diagnostic procedures in 2021 to 23% in 2026. - The development at Burnham Yard will be guided by a Small Area Plan, a community-driven process to ensure local voices are reflected in the redevelopment. This process, which includes a 26-member community advisory committee, is expected to conclude with plan adoption near the end of 2026.
