LICH takeover proposals
Cobble Hill's Long Island College Hospital re-opened the bidding process for developers and operators to take control of its 200,000-square-foot campus last week, and Crain's has the latest details on the four possible proposals—and it looks like at least three, possibly all, will include housing. The front runner is stillFortis Property Group, which put forth the plan that SUNY trustees originally wanted to move forward with back in December. Fortis' plan includes an emergency room and "specialty medical services," and now they have brought on Lutheran Family Health Centers as a partner to provide "enhanced primary care." An unspecified number of buildings would be converted to a mix of condos and rentals, and 25 percent of these units would be affordable.
Developer Don Peebles partnered with the Institute for Family Health in his proposal, and he claims that his plan will have more medical facilities than any other. According to the Journal, his plan calls for a 50,000-square-foot primary care facility, and he also included an unknown amount of residential space, promising that 35 percent of these units would be affordable. Evidently, Peebles is "also offering more money for the site."
Brooklyn College Hospital's bid for LICH got the biggest boost: backing from mega-developer Related Companies. A spokesman for Related told theJournal, "Our plan is 'Made in Brooklyn,' backed up by a well-established, financially stable health-care provider with deep ties to the community, including the neighborhoods currently served by LICH." Brooklyn College's plan would create and outpatient center and free-standing emergency room, and Related would develop a mix of market-rate and affordable housing (or "workforce housing"). The developer did not specify what percentage would be affordable.
Crain's says that a fourth proposal comes from Brisa Builders, and includes Lutheran Medical Center as a provider of primary care, dental services, and behavioral health service care. This proposal also added Cornell Realty and the Chetrit Group as partners, so it likely includes residential as well.
The proposals were due yesterday afternoon, but it's unclear when a plan will be selected. The community and local officials wanted to see the financially failing hospital preserved, but none of the proposals do that. It's been previously reported that the LICH has $500 million in liabilities, and a sale could maybe fetch $300 million, but appraisers put the hospital's value at $228 to $278 million.