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Moab Regional Hospital seeks feasibility funding for 50–60 unit workforce housing project in Spanish Valley
Summary
Moab Regional Hospital asked the board for planning and feasibility funds to develop 22 acres it purchased in Spanish Valley into deed‑restricted housing for essential workers. The hospital said the site could hold roughly 50–60 units and that partial funding could be applied to legal and infrastructure planning.
Moab Regional Hospital presented a proposal to fund a planning and feasibility study for an essential‑worker housing development on 22 acres the hospital purchased in Spanish Valley.
CEO Jen Sadoff told the board the hospital has 20 open positions it cannot fill because local housing costs make relocating and retaining health‑care professionals difficult. She said the parcel in Spanish Valley could accommodate roughly 50 to 60 deed‑restricted homes intended for essential staff at the hospital and other critical employers, including school district personnel, EMS and emergency services. The land purchase price of $1.9 million was cited as an existing hospital investment toward the project.
Sadoff described the planning request as work the hospital can help manage internally — “we have a CFO and a controller, legal counsel” — but said the hospital lacks the housing‑development expertise to finalize infrastructure phasing, governance and long‑term affordability mechanisms. The feasibility work would include market analysis, infrastructure planning, HOA/governance frameworks and options for the hospital to retain rights (for example a right of first refusal and price caps to preserve affordability in perpetuity).
Partial funding: Sadoff said the hospital could accept partial funding and will use internal staff and budget to advance some aspects of the work if necessary, but stressed that a full scope is preferable to avoid repeated rework and shifting cost assumptions across years.
Why it matters: The hospital framed housing as essential to maintaining health‑care services. “Housing is health care,” Sadoff said during the public remarks portion of the meeting, summarizing the project’s rationale. The board did not award funds; hospital staff asked the board to consider forward‑ing the feasibility request as part of the county’s grant package.
Proponents said the hospital will work with county officials on deed restrictions and clarified the project would be located in Spanish Valley, a parcel in San Juan County the hospital purchased to serve Grand County’s workforce needs.
