Pinehurst Family Care Center has broken ground on a new, energy-efficient building in Heather Glen that is designed around how its doctors work.

“As opposed to forcing them into a building and letting them figure it out,” said Robert Anderson, a principal at Anderson Architecture in Southern Pines and lead architect on the project.

Anderson said the doctors and staff at Pinehurst Family didn’t realize “all of the options available to them” in the beginning “because they were used to their current work environment.”

“But they really started engaging me more and more as the process proceeded,” Anderson said. “We used computer modeling extensively to show them different options. In the end, they came from a traditional building but they’re getting a modern one. The doctors are going to have a very efficient environment in a building wrapped around how they work.”

Dr. Douglas Lam believes that the final configuration will benefit both staff and patients.

“We will continue to provide high-quality primary care with X-ray and lab services, but with an enhanced patient experience in the new building,” Lam said. “The design is focused on improving the efficiency of our patients’ time.”

The 9,400-square-foot building is being constructed by Bowness Custom Homes, of Pinehurst.

“We’re known for our custom homes, but we’ve always done light commercial,” owner Alex Bowness said. “We do two or three buildings a year. Construc-tion of the Pinehurst Family Care Center will take about a year, and we’ll use 35 subs on the job, all but one of whom are from Moore County.”

Anderson, whose firm was hired by Bowness, said he’s glad that virtually all of the work is staying local, especially given the number of construction jobs lost during the economic downturn.

“It’s important to look within,” Anderson said. “We’ve all been hurting. It’s nice to have some relief.”

Pinehurst Family is moving from Aviemore Drive to Regional Park to stay close to FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital.

“We are pleased to be moving into a growing professional development,” Lam said.

He will be joined by Drs. John Jameson and Matthew Manzo, as well as their mid-level providers and support staff.

“It’s going to be great for our entire staff,” Lam said.

The energy-efficient features include foam insulation in the attic at the roof level, windows designed to reduce heat gain in the summer and heat loss in the winter, and long-lasting materials that require less maintenance.

“The building is also designed to let in as much natural light as possible,” Anderson said.

He added that the window sills are higher, for example, so that patients can change clothes without drawing the blinds.

“The higher sills meant the windows became more horizontal than vertical, which is an interesting change from the norm,” Anderson said.

Lam said the natural light highlights the building’s “relaxing decors and great outdoor views.”

The Pinehurst Family project comes on the heels of separate announcements last month that two Charlotte companies plan class A office complexes at Olmsted Village in Pinehurst that will likely target medical tenants.

The Kuester Cos., which already manages Central Park South in Olmsted Village, plans to spend about $2.3 million to construct Central Park Medical Plaza, a two-story building that would have about 6,250 square feet on each floor.

The company hopes to break ground in April, finish construction by the end of the year and have tenants in place by the first quarter of 2013.

Meanwhile, The Keith Corp. will partner with Olmsted Village Co. to possibly build up to 142,000 square feet of office space on land behind the Home Suites hotel.

Pat Corso, executive director of Moore County Partners in Progress, has said that he hopes both projects come to fruition because there is a shortage of class A office space in the county.

Contact Ted M. Natt Jr. at tnatt@thepilot.com.