The County Board of Supervisors will vote on Tuesday to begin negotiations with a developer for the redevelopment of the former County Hospital building into a mixed-use project that will include housing, a hotel, commercial spaces and medical services.
That developer, Centennial Partners, is composed of Primestor and Bayspring Development.
Supervisors are expected to approve a motion, introduced by Supervisor Hilda L. Solís, which calls for the County to enter into an Exclusive Negotiation Agreement with Centennial for a project to include:
- 778,00 sq. ft dedicated to housing – a total of 885 units with at least 30% classified as affordable
- 166,000 sq. ft. of hotel space
- 168,000 sq. ft of retail space
- 65,000 sq. ft of laboratory/medical offices
- 80,000 sq. ft of community and general services
- 531,000 sq. ft of parking
The meeting is set to begin at 9:30 am with a live broadcast of the meeting available online.
“The need for affordable housing is more important than ever,” said Solís in a press release. “To that end, I am proud to take this next step-repurposing a historic County landmark to meet our greatest need.”
Known for decades as General Hospital (and seen daily as the setting of an ABC soap opera with the same name), the 1930’s, 19-story structure was vacated when damage from the 1994 Northridge Earthquake left it out of compliance with safety regulations.
A new county hospital opened nearby in 2010. The lower floors of the old building were subsequently remodeled and are now home to The Wellness Center and various office spaces.
The reuse of the iconic Boyle Heights structure has been a long time coming. Originally, the building was proposed as a potential site to house people without shelter, but that idea was dropped after several community meetings.
Currently, the County envisions the project as a “Healthy Village” designed to “provide a diverse and vibrant set of pedestrian scaled environments to draw in the community and support their healing, wellness, and prosperity,” according to a letter submitted by the Department of Economic Opportunity.
“The historic General hospital building has served as a symbol of health innovation in Los Angeles County for many decades and Tuesday’s actions will extend its legacy as a site for healing and community,” concluded Solís.
