Demand for real estate in Point Reyes Station is heating up.

The Petaluma Health Center is eyeing several spots in the town as a possible location for a two-story, 20,000-square-foot geriatric health center that would include housing for some of its employees. One location under consideration, the former Station House Cafe at the center of town, has raised concerns among members of the Point Reyes Station Village Association.

Also, the county is apparently contemplating the purchase of a parcel at Sixth and B streets that is known locally as the “calving lot” because it was once used by the Waldo Giacomini dairy.

“I can confirm that the Board of Supervisors did meet in closed session to discuss price, terms and conditions, and that there were no reportable actions,” County Executive Derek Johnson said.

Johnson declined to say why the county is interested in the property. Supervisor Dennis Rodoni, whose district includes western Marin, recused himself from the negotiations because he is part owner of a property within 1,000 feet of the parcel.

Jarrod Russell, director of the Community Land Trust of West Marin, said, “CLAM, the county, and other partners are looking at how we can work together to create affordable housing on the site.”

The Marin Community Foundation has given the land trust a $150,000 grant to search for potential locations to provide interim housing for families who will soon be evicted from 12 dairies and ranches in the Point Reyes National Seashore. The agricultural operations must close under a legal settlement between the ranchers and several environmental organizations.

The grant also tasks the land trust with finding sites to rehouse people living in substandard conditions on the Martinelli ranch near Point Reyes Station.

Previous estimates indicated that about 90 people were living on the Point Reyes National Seashore ranches and another 40 on the Martinelli ranch. Russell said the current estimated need is housing for 40 families.

“We are looking at the calving lot site among others to help address this housing crisis,” Russell said.

Pedro Toledo, chief executive officer of the Petaluma Health Center, said the geriatric health center would operate as a PACE center. The acronym stands for “program of all-inclusive care for the elderly.”

PACE is a federal- and state-funded initiative that aims to provide older adults with an alternative to nursing home care. Funded mainly through MediCal and Medicare, PACE centers provide access to doctors and dentists; adult day care; transportation to and from centers for medical appointments and activities; physical and occupational therapy; home care; and meals.

“PACE allows seniors to live in their home for as long as they can while also being able to access all of the services they need to thrive,” Toledo said. “We believe the key to aging in place is having access to health care.”

Toledo said the center would include eight dwellings occupying about 8,000 square feet on its second floor that would be reserved for medical workers. Some would be rented to Petaluma Health Center staff members working in Point Reyes Station who live on ranches in Point Reyes National Seashore.

“We have about eight staff members at this point that are living in the national seashore who are at risk of being displaced as early as October,” Toledo said.

The Point Reyes Station Village Association discussed the proposed project at a meeting earlier this month, and some members raised concerns about its size, the amount of traffic it would generate and the effect it would have on the character of downtown.

Christina Desser, a Point Reyes resident who has served on both the California Coastal Commission and the Marin County Planning Commission, said, “We need to maintain our main drag as a vital commercial center for the community.”

Desser said that with the looming loss of so many ranches, the town’s economy is likely to become even more dependent on tourism.

“Having a senior citizens day care center in the middle of town is not going to be a tourist magnet,” she said. “I’m pretty sure of that.”

Desser and other association members have suggested that it would make more sense to locate the geriatric center on the parcel at Sixth and B streets, which is near senior living complexes and the Point Reyes Health Center operated by the Petaluma Health Center.

It has also been suggested that the Sixth and B street parcel could be used to provide immediate interim housing for people being displaced and then later become the site for the geriatric center.

“I personally hope Petaluma Health can collaborate with CLAM in producing the much-needed facility and housing,” said Steve Antonaros, president of the Point Reyes Station Village Association.

Toledo said he has scheduled a meeting with CLAM’s director “to check on the possibility of collaboration on that site.”

“We’re still looking and exploring our options,” Toledo said. “We haven’t decided on a location.”

Toledo said that ideally the Petaluma Health Center would finalize the purchase within the next six months, but he said it might take twice that long.