Brought to you by WBIW News and Network Indiana
Last updated on Wednesday, January 3, 2018
(BLOOMINGTON) - City of Bloomington and IU Health announced today that they have signed a letter of intent regarding property at the current Bloomington Hospital site. Upon opening the new IU Health Regional Academic Health Center, IU Health will transfer the property and other nearby parcels to the City for its development in the community’s interest.
The letter of intent is the result of months of discussions between IU Health and the City of Bloomington. The City will pay IU Health a discounted rate of $6.5 million for the economic development potential of all parcels pursuant to the purchase agreement. These funds will be used for the design and development of the new Regional Academic Health Center. The total value for the hospital lot and outlots is almost $16 million.
"By making this commitment well in advance of IU Health's relocation, our community has ample time to study options, gather public input and plan for the next use of the land," said Mayor John Hamilton. "More opportunities for the public to actively participate in the future of this land will come through the Urban Land Institute planning process. This is an exciting opportunity for Bloomingtonians to thoughtfully reimagine this important location in our city."
As part of the letter of intent, IU Health Bloomington Hospital will demolish facilities on the current hospital site and perform any remediation to the property. The costs to turn the site over to the city (including demolition, remediation, decommissioning, etc.) are projected to be between $7 to 8 million.
"IU Health and the City of Bloomington have a solid working relationship, not only on the existing site reuse, but also the development of our new campus," said Matt Bailey, president, IU Health Bloomington Hospital. "We are pleased to be able to work together with the administration to make a positive impact on our community."
IU Health and the City intend to implement the letter of intent by execution of a binding purchase agreement no later than Feb. 15, 2018. The purchase agreement will provide a due diligence period through June 1, 2018, to allow time for title work, survey, environmental inspection, appraisal and community outreach.
"Abandoned hospitals in other communities have become liabilities when vacated. We have served the community for more than 100 years, and it's extremely important to us to leave a clean site for Bloomington."
The site will be transferred when the new IU Health Regional Academic Health Center is open and operational, the existing hospital has ceased operations and all facilities have been vacated.
1340 AM WBIW welcomes comments and suggestions by calling 812.277.1340 during normal business hours or by email at comments@wbiw.com
© Ad-Venture Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.