Oneida County advances repurposing efforts for St. Luke's Hospital By Ray Durso
Oneida County Executive Anthony J. Picente Jr. was recently joined by partners from Mohawk Valley Health System (MVHS), Mohawk Valley EDGE and the Town of New Hartford to announce Request for Proposals seeking an evaluation of the St. Luke’s Campus and a plan to repurpose it for maximal community benefit. “As we anticipate the opening of the state-of-the-art Wynn Hospital this fall, ensuring that the St. Luke’s Campus is repurposed in the most comprehensive manner is imperative,” Picente said. “These RFPs allow us to properly evaluate the current state of St. Luke’s facilities and determine the best course of action to transform it into a new asset that presents the greatest benefit to our community. We must seize the opportunity that the new downtown Utica hospital presents, to not only enhance our regional healthcare, but to further Oneida County’s economic resurgence by maximizing MVHS’s former sites.”
The overall vision of Oneida County, MVHS, EDGE and the Town of New Hartford is for the reuse of the St. Luke’s Campus to create a fresh, modern, smart city-enabled, pedestrian-friendly, mixed-used environment with urban amenities just a short walk or bike ride away. Public participation will be an important part of the process and will help shape that vision. “Taking this important step together, with a shared vision for ensuring the hospital campus continues to serve this community well, is important to us,” said MVHS President & CEO Darlene Stromstad. “Much is possible in the Mohawk Valley, and this property is a valuable asset for future growth and opportunity. I thank County Executive Picente, Mohawk Valley EDGE and the Town of New Hartford for their partnership.”
Steve DiMeo (photo from Mohawk Valley EDGE)
“As we have witnessed with the Marcy Nanocenter, Utica University Nexus Center and the transformation of Utica and Rome’s downtowns, there is no limit to what we can achieve together,” said EDGE President Steven DiMeo. “The sheer scale, favorable geography and vast potential of the St. Luke’s Medical Campus presents our community with a rare and exciting opportunity. The site’s proximity to residential neighborhoods, commercial districts and educational institutions open the door to a wide spectrum of possibility and future uses. Our team is excited to be working with Oneida County, MVHS and the Town of New Hartford on such a transformative project.”
“The Town of New Hartford is excited to be a key stakeholder in the repurposing of the St. Luke’s campus,” said New Hartford Town Supervisor Paul Miscione. “It will be our pleasure to work with the County Executive, Mohawk Valley Health System and Mohawk Valley EDGE throughout this great development project. When all leaders come together, progress is made. This project will also support additional positive financial success for our thriving community’s future.”
The first RFP is for a facilities study of the St. Luke’s Campus. The study will include a thorough analysis of the structural, environmental and physical plant conditions, providing the feasibility and cost for the demolition or adaptive reuse of the campus. It has already been determined that the Center for Rehabilitation and Continuing Care Services will remain at its current location on the campus.
The second RFP is for a reuse master plan of the campus. The redevelopment strategy will consider environmental conditions, pre-demolition planning, rationalization of existing infrastructure, civic engagement, conceptual site planning, market analysis, budgeting and potential environmental and community impacts of redevelopment scenarios.
Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente (photo from Anthony Picente)
For both RFPs, it is assumed that there is limited, if any, potential for the adaptive reuse of the main St. Luke’s hospital building. As a result, it is anticipated the majority of time and resources will be spent on demolition and deconstruction planning. The selected consultants will be expected to immediately mobilize studies, assessments and civil engineering related to demolition/deconstruction planning and design. This will include, but not be limited to, structural evaluation, utility disconnections and decommissioning, asbestos and regulated building material surveys, demolition/deconstruction approach, permitting and estimation of probable costs. To the extent there are structures that can be saved, the consultants will provide rationale, associated costs and feasibility determination for each scenario.
The selected consultant for the second RFP will prepare up to three conceptual site plan alternatives for mixed-use development, to include various intensities of housing, commercial, amenity and public realm improvements. The conceptual site plan alternatives will be used for future grant applications, environmental reviews, infrastructure design and the developer RFEI process. The selected consultant will prepare a draft developer Requests for Expressions of Interest for use by EDGE and MVHS to market the property to potential real estate developers.
Once the consultants are selected for each RFP, there will be a number of in-person stakeholder meetings and in-person public presentations to discuss approach, solicit input and present findings. Oneida County will fund the consultants selected for the RFPs which are being issued by Mohawk Valley EDGE. The first RFP was issued by EDGE on July 20, 2023. Proposals are due to EDGE by August 31, 2023. The second RFP will be issued on July 28, 2023, and proposals are due by September 7, 2023. They are available here: https://www.mvedge.org/2023/06/16/st-lukes-campus-reuse/. The City of Utica, Utica IDA, MVHS and EDGE have partnered to repurpose and redevelop MVHS’s St. Elizabeth’s Campus.
Special thanks to The Genesis Group for contributing this article. The Genesis Group is a civic organization that unites Business and Community Leaders working to advance regional Economic, Social and Cultural interests, and to foster unity and cooperation in the Mohawk Valley region of Upstate New York.
