[ ABOVE: Photo courtesy of the city of Greer. ]
City seeks multipurpose use of former Allen Bennett Memorial Hospital
The city of Greer has issued a request for proposals for the acquisition and development of the former Allen Bennett Memorial Hospital and Roger Huntington Nursing Home site, a 10-acre piece of property along the south side of Wade Hampton Boulevard.
“It would be difficult to identify a more promising commercial property in the city of Greer,” said Mayor Rick Danner. “Repurposing the property will now provide economic benefits to city residents and the future owner.”
Danner told UBJ last year that the tax benefits and proceeds from a sale could be used for city projects that aren’t part of the regular budget.
The city intends to sell the property (located at 313 Memorial Drive) for no less than $2 million and has designated it for multipurpose use. The city prefers that the property be used for retail, offices or hospitality. But it’s also accepting proposals for multi-family housing, according to Reno Deaton, executive director of Greer Development Corp.
Deaton said the city established these goals for the site: Return the property to the city tax rolls through acquisition by a real-property-tax-paying person or entity; redevelop the site in a manner that complements the city of Greer, the Wade Hampton corridor, and surrounding neighborhoods; and create jobs for the community.
Proposals from nonprofits aren’t being considered.
“Greer has done a great job in preparing the former Allen Bennett Memorial Hospital site for marketing,” said Deaton.
The RFP is available on the City of Greer’s website and is being marketed throughout the Upstate and regionally to include the areas of Columbia, S.C.; Charleston, S.C.; and Charlotte, N.C.
The property has a complicated past. Greenville Health System (GHS) left the Allen Bennett Memorial Hospital campus for its Greer Memorial Hospital campus in 2008.
GHS gifted the campus to the city of Greer in 2010. But then Maryland-based Cardinal Real Estate Group purchased the campus for $1.4 million and entered into a 20-year fee-in-lieu of taxes agreement with the city, paying $35,208 annually. Shortly after, Cardinal announced plans for a $14.2 million government call center and senior living center, both creating a total of 150 jobs. But Cardinal defaulted on the $1.4 million owed to the city.
In 2011, the city entered into legal action to foreclose the hospital campus. It was awarded a $400,000 judgment against Cardinal and regained ownership in 2014. The city decided to demolish the site’s buildings last year and finished the process in January.
Greer City Council approved the RFP for the acquisition and development of the property in June. Proposals are being evaluated based on:
- The developer’s history of creating successful projects of a similar scope.
- The strength of the developer to finance, market, manage, and package this project and the ability of the project to enhance the future development of the surrounding commercial areas and residential neighborhoods.
- The project’s compatibility with surrounding properties, including the commercial and residential land uses, and assigned C-3 (highway commercial) zoning.
- The availability of financing on behalf of the developer.
- The developer’s readiness and ability to proceed on the project with prescribed deadlines, purchase price and creation of new jobs for the community.
Proposals are due no later than 3 p.m. on Oct. 4. The city will not entertain proposals with an offer amount less than $2 million, according to Deaton.
