Banking on a different approach to health care

Former Portsmouth credit union will house surgical center and other medical businesses

Dozens of health care practices in the Granite State have been absorbed by regional health care systems. Yet, a large cohort of physicians choose to remain independent.

These doctors require medical office space and access to ambulatory surgical centers that support outpatient surgical care. To fill that need, two longtime friends teamed up to design a medical building with the goal of empowering physicians and improving the patient experience.

Dr. Alex Slocum, a board-certified plastic surgeon with a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering, and Dan Humphrey, a real estate developer and former airline pilot, are in the process of converting the former Lighthouse Credit Union building at 100 Borthwick Ave. in Portsmouth into an ambulatory surgery center and medical office building.

When completed, the 50,000-square-foot building will include two operating rooms, more than 3,500 square feet of physical therapy and rehabilitation space, and first- and second-floor medical office suites. Tenants will also get access to a shared conference room and surgical lounge.

“We didn’t want to be just another medical office building. We wanted to be an ecosystem — a place where physicians, staff and patients all have what they need in one location,” Slocum said.

The duo, longtime friends and co-owners of Stonefish Development, financed the project through Bank of New Hampshire and New Hampshire investors, and chose to work with local contractors to upgrade the existing building and infrastructure. Physicians/tenants can also invest separately as limited partners in the building, giving them an ownership stake in the project’s value and rental income.

Adaptive reuse of the credit union has allowed the team to take advantage of its existing location and structure to shorten the project timeline and make efficient use of capital. The biggest challenges in retrofitting have been upgrading the infrastructure — including the building’s mechanical systems, power and medical gas distribution — to meet the strict requirements of modern health care facilities in a building not originally designed for surgery, Humphrey said.

More like Main Street than a department store

Slocum uses a retail analogy to explain his vision for the building.

“A hospital is like a department store. We’re building Main Street — independent businesses side by side, sharing traffic and resources, but each free to run their own shop,” he said.

Slocum and Humphrey intentionally designed the layout and tenant mix to support physicians and patients. The operating rooms and provider offices are positioned in a way that minimizes unnecessary transfers and maximizes efficiency and patient privacy.

Because the operating room will be located in the same building as the medical practices, physicians will be able to see more patients in between surgeries. By putting multiple specialties under one roof, patients can receive follow-up care more quickly and seamlessly.

The project continues to follow an aggressive timeline. The building will open in February 2026, just 12 months after Stonefish acquired it from the bank. Today, more than 70% of the building is leased out to tenants, which include Portsmouth Surgery Center, Seacoast Plastic Surgery, Port City Chiropractic, NimbleNET IT & Computer Solutions and Chase Anesthesia.

The ambulatory surgical center, plastic surgery and pain management offices will open first, with additional specialties and ancillary services such as pharmacy and laboratory tenants, expected to phase in as the team grows.

“We’ve always had a clear vision,” Humphrey said. “Every decision has been deterministic, data-driven. We knew what we needed to build, and we never wavered.”

Bringing surgical space closer to home

The idea for the project actually originated in Seabrook, not Portsmouth. Slocum’s practice is based in Portsmouth, but he performed surgeries at Atlantic Coast Surgical Suites, an ambulatory surgical center located in a Seabrook strip mall. The center had struggled after a flood and the pandemic, and by late 2024, its national management company announced plans to shut it down.

Instead of walking away and looking for another space to conduct surgery, Slocum took action.

“I called the management team and said, ‘Can I buy it?’” he said.

Within months, Stonefish had negotiated a deal to acquire the center. By purchasing Atlantic Coast Surgical Suites, the team was able to transfer its Medicare license and regulatory approvals to the Portsmouth location. Starting a new ambulatory surgery center from scratch requires applications, inspections and capital investments, Slocum said. With the Seabrook license in hand, Stonefish was able to compress the timeline from build to occupancy significantly.

“The time to market was essentially instant,” Humphrey said. “It usually takes two to three years to get one of these centers off the ground. By taking over Seabrook, we had a functioning ambulatory surgery center in seven months.”

Best of all, physicians are thrilled with the new location, which is just off of I-95 and adjacent to Portsmouth Hospital, Slocum said.

“One of my colleagues was driving 30 minutes north for surgery,” he said. “Now his commute will be five minutes. Over a year, that’s a week’s worth of clinic time he gets back — a week of patients cared for instead of hours wasted in traffic.”

Even small touches — like including a surgeons’ lounge — set the facility apart and make the space more collegial for physicians.

“I was told not to build one,” Slocum said. “But surgeons need a place to decompress, to connect. Every surgeon who’s seen the plans says, ‘Perfect. I like it.’”

Looking ahead

Today the building still looks more like a construction site than a bank or a medical building, but its core, shell upgrades and surgical infrastructure are expected to be completed by the end of the year, with state licensing and accreditation inspections scheduled for early 2026. Although the building will open in just a few months, the Stonefish team is already looking ahead.

“We plan to replicate this model,” Humphrey said.

“Every community has independent doctors who need space outside the hospital system. We’ve shown it can be done quickly and sustainably.”

For Slocum, the project not only supports his practice, but it reflects his personal mission.

“I started my career in EMS,” he said. “That background taught me the importance of drills, preparation and always asking how we can do better.

That’s what this building is about: creating a safe, efficient environment where doctors can focus on patients.”

Inside the new medical center

The 50,000-square-foot facility will launch with:

• Two operating rooms, with the option to expand to three.

• Physical therapy and rehabilitation space in the high-ceilinged former bank lobby.

• First- and second-floor medical suites for independent practices.

• Shared conference space and amenities for collaboration.

• Ambulance access for emergencies, with potential to add imaging and lab services.