Baystate Dental Care could soon be opening an office in Westfield at the Windows on the Green site at Broad and Court streets.
The Westfield Planning Board voted on Tuesday, June 5, to extend the permits issued for the Windows on the Green building project for two years and were notified of a pending sale of the project.
Rob Levesque of R. Levesque Associates said a sale of both the property and the project, as permitted by the Planning Board, is pending to a regional dental practice.
Dr. Kevin Coughlin, owner of Baystate Dental, confirmed the pending sale July 18.
“We have not closed yet,” Coughlin said. “We are set to close July 6 but are waiting for soil samples to return.”
A Wesfield office would be the tenth location for the practice, which is co-owned by Coughlin and his partners, Dr. Gary Circosta and Dr. Matthew Haluch. Other offices are located in Longmeadow, East Longmeadow, Springfield, Holyoke, Chicopee, West Springfield, Belchertown, Wilbraham and Ludlow.
Coughlin said he already has a patient base in Westfield and saw a need for the services offered by Baystate Dental. He also liked what he saw happening in the city.
“I think what they’re doing in the center is admirable and I think it will be successful,” said Coughlin. “I also like what Westfield State University is doing.”
Levesque told The Westfield News he would like to keep his offices in the space once complete.
“I’d like to be a tenant if they do a condo scenario,” Levesque said. “I want to own my own space. I’d like someplace downtown, so we’re looking at a couple of different locations.”
Levesque said that he wants to complete the sale before negotiating a deal with the new building owners. Currently, his business is occupying the existing building on a month-to-month lease.
Coughlin, 54, said he purchased the practice in 1983 from his own dentists with the intent of expanding the business.
“The idea was that there were boutique practices, which were owned locally and open only three or four days a week and the dentists did not accept insurance, and there were corporate offices where you never saw the owner and there was no real personal touch,” said Coughlin. “We felt there was a huge void.”
Coughlin and his partners expanded Baystate Dental to fill that void. Coughlin said families – and the population of western Massachusetts – has changed.
“When I started out 30 years ago, people stayed in the area and (a dentist) saw generations of a family,” Coughlin said. “Today, people don’t stay here and they switch their dentist after 18 months. I don’t see the ability for a lot of young professionals coming back to this area.”
Patients today want fast, convenient, inexpensive service.
“The first question we get when people call is do we take their insurance,” he said. “And the second thing is can we see them.”
With nine offices throughout the greater Springfield area, 18 dentists on staff and 15 employees, Coughlin said seeing a patient on their terms is easy.
“We have all of our offices linked with T3 lines so it doesn’t matter where you go,” he said.
Baystate Dental offers extended office hours from 7 a.m. – 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and is open for emergencies on Sundays. Besides convenient hours, Coughlin said Baystate Dental also offers dental care in hospitals and at home for those with severe medical needs. The practice also offers services for people with extreme anxiety about having dental services performed.
Creating a nine-office practice that’s convenient for patients has not been easy.
“It’s been harder than I thought,” Coughlin said, “but I think we’re doing a good job.”
“I think we’ve carved out a niche that’s allowed us to grow and prosper,” said Coughlin.
