Banner Health to build cancer center in Windsor

WINDSOR — Banner Health will build an 80,000-square-foot MD Anderson Cancer Center in Windsor, the health system announced Wednesday.

The $59 million facility will be northeast of Interstate 25 and Colorado Highway 392, on a 15-acre parcel that Banner bought for $5 million last summer. Windsor Investments Ltd., registered to an address in Lodi, California, sold the property at 1733 Westgate Drive in the Windsor Villages at Ptarmigan subdivision to Banner in a transaction recorded July 21.

“This project reflects our deep commitment to the Northern Colorado community and our mission to make healthcare easier so life can be better,” Dr. Molly Decker, the physician executive for Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center in Northern Colorado, said in a prepared statement.

Cancer is a critical health challenge in Colorado, with the American Cancer Society estimating that more than 30,000 Coloradans will be diagnosed with cancer in 2026.

The new facility, expected to open in late 2028, will include infusion and radiation oncology services, advanced diagnostic imaging, and a specialized pharmacy and laboratory.

Banner MD Anderson has been serving Northern Colorado since 2018 with locations in Greeley and Loveland. Headquartered in Houston, MD Anderson has been ranked tops in the nation for cancer for 12 straight years and collaborates with major health systems across several states including Banner Health in Colorado and Arizona.

“Banner Health’s investment in Windsor is an important milestone for our community and for the entire Northern Colorado region,” Windsor Mayor Julie Cline said in a news release. “The new Banner MD Anderson location will bring advanced care close to home for our residents, while also creating a significant number of new jobs in Windsor and supporting our community’s continued economic growth. We are grateful for Banner’s partnership and proud that Windsor can play a role in expanding access to high-quality, compassionate healthcare in the region.”

Banner operates more than 15 primary-care clinics throughout the region and recently acquired Village Medical clinics to expand access to primary-care services.

“Banner is proud to provide high quality, accessible care to Northern Colorado, and our investment deepens our commitment to the community’s future,” Amy Perry, president and CEO of Banner Health, said in a prepared statement. “As a nonprofit health system, we reinvest in the communities we serve. These facilities will deliver exceptional cancer care and expanded hospital services elevating health and care.”

Construction of the new facility is expected to begin late this year with Banner’s longtime partner, NexCore, a national healthcare real estate investment and development company headquartered in Denver.

Banner already has nearby clinics within two miles in either direction along the same east-west highway. The one to the east is at 1300 Main St. in Windsor, and the one to the west is at 303 Colland Drive. Banner also announced in April that it was moving its primary-care and pediatric services in Timnath to a new, larger location along Harmony Road, just three miles north of the I-25-Colorado 392 interchange, and then submitted a plan in September to Fort Collins city planners that would nearly double the size and more than double the number of available patient beds at its 11-year-old Fort Collins Medical Center.

Competing healthcare systems also are eyeing the booming I-25 corridor for future expansion.

In May, UCHealth bought adjacent parcels totaling more than 130 acres of land east of Berthoud for a combined $17.4 million. The properties at 3503 and 3641 Colorado Highway 56, northwest of the highway’s intersection with I-25, create a tract that is comparable in size to other land the Aurora-based healthcare system has purchased for full-size hospitals.

UCHealth also bought 110 acres in February for a Broomfield North Campus north of Baseline Road and west of I-25, adjacent to the site of a hospital being planned by AdventHealth.

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