Despite protest by a citizens' group opposed to the construction of a hospital in downtown Utica, Mohawk Valley Health System is moving forward with plans to build a new campus on an estimated 25 urban acres in the city.
On May 18, officials from the Mohawk Valley Health System announced they were appraising downtown properties affected by the new hospital project. A letter was mailed to 39 downtown property owners representing 77 properties that, along with city-owned space, totals about 25 acres, according to mvhealthsystem.org.
A funding plan for the project is anticipated to be completed in the next 60 to 90 days, according to Scott H. Perra, president and CEO of the hospital system.
The estimated cost is between $500-600 million, with $300 million coming from the state.
"We are currently working with the NYS Department of Health on the final plan for securing the $300 million and the process they want us to follow moving forward to complete and file the CON (Certificate of Need)," Perra said in a statement.
Tentative plans include offers on the properties potentially by year's end, and work on the sites beginning in late 2017 or early 2018.
The property area being appraised includes several city blocks south of the Utica Memorial Auditorium, which presents one of the problems for those who oppose the plan. Parking for the auditorium would be affected by a large hospital downtown, according to the group NoHospitalDowntown.
Construction would bulldoze old downtown buildings, including the historic Columbia Street bar, opponents say. While Utica's economic forecast is good, many city storefronts have stood vacant, and numerous buildings have been demolished since the 1970s, when downtown Utica was a more vibrant retail and business district.
The teardown of more properties is reminiscent of the urban renewal projects of the past and will do nothing to help downtown revitalization efforts, according to nohospitaldowntown.com. Also, taxable property would be taken for the tax-exempt hospital, the group said.
Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi, D-Utica, disagreed over the potential negative impact, telling the Utica Observer Dispatch that "it would boost economic development in the downtown region."
Another complaint is that the busy Bargain Grocery has been forced to put expansion plans on hold pending the outcome of the hospital proposal. The hospital's design plans show a garden in the area where the store wants to build, according to NoHospitalDowntown.
The group said local taxpayers were not asked for their input when Albany officials discussed hospital plans, nor has there been a study to support the need for a new hospital.
Plans for the new Mohawk Valley Health System hospital have been up in the air as $300 million in state funding was first allocated for the development, then stripped out of the state budget and finally restored, according to an April story in the Utica OD.
Mohawk Valley Health System is an affiliation of Faxton St. Luke's Healthcare and St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Utica.
In 2015, the Board of Directors for the Mohawk Valley Health System announced the new hospital would replace the two inpatient campuses, Faxton St. Luke's Healthcare and St. Elizabeth Medical Center.
Twitter: @SusanJMorse