Every location decision we make runs through the same filter. The criteria aren’t complicated, but they’re specific and they’re grounded in what we’ve learned from operating dental practices across North Carolina, not from what a market report told us to look for.

Population-to-provider ratio. We want markets where demand is outpacing supply. Not markets where there are already enough providers – markets where there aren’t enough yet, but the growth trajectory says there will be. Getting there first is the entire game.

Household formation rate. Current population matters less than momentum. We track where new households are moving, not just where people already live. If 4,000 new households are arriving in an area per year, that market needs infrastructure, including healthcare. We want to be there when those families start looking for a dentist, not after three competitors have already opened.

Road visibility and traffic patterns. A healthcare business that patients see on their commute every day has a structural marketing advantage that doesn’t appear on any pro forma. We prioritize road frontage and high daily traffic counts. And we pay close attention to where natural patient boundaries form: major highways, railroad tracks, geographic divides that shape how people actually move through their daily lives. A location on the wrong side of Capital Boulevard in Raleigh might as well be in a different city.

One location per zip code. When a patient searches their insurance network, results populate by zip code. We want one result to appear: one clear choice, no confusion, no split patient base. This discipline has direct implications for how we think about market density as we expand into new geographies, and it’s a decision most investors would never think to ask about.

Retail adjacency. Patients visiting medical providers consistently make secondary stops at pharmacies and grocery stores. We actively seek locations where the co-tenancy mix supports patient convenience rather than working against it. Healthcare tenants and grocery anchors are a stronger combination than most retail investors give credit for.

Lease structure durability. New leases in the medical outpatient sector have averaged terms of over eight years, with escalations built in annually. We structure our leases to reflect the long-term value of the tenancy. That structure creates predictable, growing income that holds through rate cycles in ways short-term retail leases don’t.