LUMBERTON — A long-vacant retail space at the north end of Biggs Park Mall has been reborn with the opening of Duke Medicine.

The new Duke Medicine complex includes the new home of Duke Cardiology of Lumberton, Duke Neurosurgical Associates of Lumberton, and Duke Cardiovascular Surgery of Lumberton. The services had been available at two other locations near Southeastern Regional Medical Center and have now been consolidated.

The doctors and staff gathered Monday morning for a ceremonial ribbon-cutting.

SRMC leases the building and subleases the space to Duke Medicine. There has been a continuing relationship between Duke and the Lumberton hospital. Duke manages the Southeastern Heart Center, located on the hospital's main campus.

SRMC renovated the building, which used to house Winn-Dixie, and is making plans for the remaining 31,254 square feet, or about 80 percent of the building.

"We're most excited to have Duke available in a much larger and convenient space to the people in the community that we serve," said David Sumner, vice president of strategic management and support services for SRMC. "It's really a milestone to extend care ... it's a true visionary movement by SRMC."

By the end of May the next portion will open, an express lab providing blood-drawing services, he said.

Duke Medicine is getting comfortable in its new 10,084-square-foot home. It began seeing patients over the last two weeks.

“It’s absolutely beautiful,” said Amy Kessenich, an assistant operating officer for Duke University Hospital and director of the

Southeastern Heart Center. She also serves as practice manager for the cardio services at the Duke clinic.

The expansive new lobby is nearly 780 square feet, with seating for 45 people. The reception area is designed in an open format with five check-in stations, said Kessenich.

“It is spacious and really very nice,” she said.

The new space offers nine exam rooms for cardiology, two cardiovascular exam rooms and four neurosurgery exam rooms, plus there are three rooms for stress tests, echocardiograms and other procedures.

“It’s very welcoming,” she said, pointing out the numerous “soothing” photographs of scenes of North Carolina, from the ocean to the mountains.

Duke Neurosurgical Associates of Lumberton has been in Lumberton for more than a decade. Dr. Charles Haworth and physician assistant Louisa Stewart have provided services at SRMC for 13 years, specializing in adult neurosurgery.

"We are happy to be in our new facility. I think it's an asset for us and for our patients," said Regina Branch, practice manager of Duke Neurosurgical Associates, which had operated in an office across the street from the mall.

Winn-Dixie closed in 2004, said Kenny Biggs, president of Biggs Park Inc., owner of the Biggs Park Mall.

“We are really excited about the heart center and the Duke team being in that building, and look forward to the hospital doing the rest of the building, and bringing more medical services to the area," Biggs said. “We feel like it makes our center a more complete center, for medical and retail and business.”

Improvements were also made to the large parking area in front of the new clinic, where plenty of free parking is available.

The shopping center was established in the 1960s as a strip mall, and expanded into a covered shopping center in August 1985 with the opening of the Belk store.