By Kathy McCabe
Boston Globe

North Shore Medical Center in Salem and Beverly Hospital have long battled for profits and position across the North Shore. Now they're cross-town rivals in Danvers, where each is spending millions of dollars to build outpatient-care facilities on major roadways.

The $144 million Mass. General/North Shore Center for Outpatient Care, and a medical office building, are planned for Endicott Street, off Route 128, on land once part of Osram Sylvania's lighting headquarters. Across town, the $30 million Beverly Hospital at Danvers Medical and Day Surgery Center is under construction at the former Danvers State Hospital property on Route 62.

Town Manager Wayne P. Marquis said Danvers is happy to stake its claim as a medical hub. "Healthcare is a growth industry, and both of these facilities will serve not only Danvers, but the entire North Shore."

The Mass. General/North Shore center will pair local doctors and those from Boston side-by-side in a 122,000-square-foot outpatient center, and an 80,000-square-foot office building. "I think this [facility] will transform the way medical care is delivered here on the North Shore of Boston," Robert Norton, chief executive at North Shore Medical Center in Salem, said last week at a ceremonial groundbreaking for the new Mass. General/North Shore center.

The center will offer cardiac care, radiography, and day surgery. The North Shore Cancer Center, now at Centennial Park in Peabody, will relocate to the new facility, which is due to open in spring 2009.

Beverly Hospital's new center is to open on Nov. 14. The 99,000-square-foot facility will offer day surgery, sports medicine, breast health, cardiovascular care, and pain management. The $30 million facility, built on three floors, replaces the current Beverly Hospital Hunt Center on Lindall Street. In a statement, Stephen Laverty, chief executive of Beverly Hospital, said the new facility "will extend our ability to deliver comprehensive, high-quality care to residents of the North Shore area."