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IDA board: former hospital to be demolished; site to be leveled and seeded pending future housing plans
Summary
IDA staff reported demolition began Sept. 3 after developers concluded renovation was cost‑prohibitive; parking and secondary structures will be removed and the site is expected to be leveled and seeded in roughly seven weeks to ready it for future housing or development.
IDA staff told the board that the county‑owned hospital property will be demolished and cleared after multiple developers evaluated the site and determined renovation was cost‑prohibitive.
"The decision was made to demo the hospital after careful consideration for multiple developers coming in and evaluating the property, and determining that it is cost prohibitive to renovate," Melanie Roberts, a development group executive, said during the executive report. Roberts said demolition began Sept. 3 and crews were removing the main building and metal exterior sheeting from a secondary building.
Roberts said removing concrete driveways and parking lots is planned for the next phase and "everything will be removed from the property, and then it will be leveled and seeded so it will look presentable for the community, until we progress into the next plan for that property." Staff estimated the demolition and site preparation would take about seven weeks, placing completion roughly in mid‑October.
Roberts also reported on other active projects. Debut Development has completed roof and insulation work and exterior sheeting, windows and doors are installed; interior framing lines had been chalked out and interior framing, finishes and stucco were next. Roberts said 122 West Main had received a full permit set and 100% approval from the state historical review for phase 1; the board was awaiting a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) from the construction manager. Roberts gave an estimated phase‑1 completion of about September 2026 once permits and GMP were in place.
Board members and staff framed the demolition as a step to prepare the site for future housing and to support IDA/Board of County Commissioners housing goals. No specific redevelopment contract or development partner was announced at the meeting.
Next steps and follow up: staff will continue demolition and site clearance work and will report back with bids, GMP or redevelopment proposals as they are developed and presented to the board.
