Tearing down the old Angel Medical Center in Franklin is likely due to costs and the age of the building, according to the hospital’s CEO.
The topic came up during the March 21 Behavioral Health Task Force meeting as Angel Medical Center CEO Clint Kendall gave a presentation that included the old Angel Medical Center.
Asked “Is it more cost-effective…to tear it down,” Kendall responded, “That is what we’re looking for in a partner; we will for somebody.”
Kendall talked about the state of the 133,334-square-foot old hospital, which he said is a tough building to use.
“We’re sitting there waiting for the right partner for that building and for that land because of the stipulations we’re placing on it as an entity because we don’t want it to become another Airbnb or we don’t want it to become another short-term rental place or another seasonal place,” Kendall said. “We want it to be affordable housing.”
Kendall said it’s hard to find an affordable housing partner for multiple reasons. One is that potential partners aren’t interested, another is the shape of the building, mostly built in 1974 but includes spaces going back to 1956.
“The hospital itself has a lot of issues, it’s old in parts,” Kendall said. “It’s not all on the same plane, ceiling heights are not high enough to meet code in a lot of places…and we just don’t want the hospital to be a liability to the community, because there’s a lot of people out there who have good intentions that don’t have good plans or don’t have deep enough pockets to carry it through.”
Kendall said sitting vacant, the building costs around $1 million a year to operate and would cost more if operational.
“It’s just not a very efficient building,” Kendall said. “There’s not a not-for-profit who could afford to run a million-dollar-a-year building.”
Kendall said HCA, who owns the building and land, would be happy to get a housing project set up on the property.
The old hospital came up amidst a discussion about the community’s housing and mental health needs. One of the task force members asked Kendall about Housing First, a homeless assistant approach to providing permanent housing to unhoused individuals, as a potential idea for the property. Another mentioned the Winding Stair Farm Foundation as an organization with funding to potentially do something.
Kendall’s biggest holdup is that HCA has not found anyone who wants to do something for the community.
Ronnie Beale, who leads the task force, said churches and hospitals are the hardest buildings to renovate because of their specific-built purposes.
In other parts of his address, Kendall said they’ve seen an uptick in Medicaid in the school system, but they still need providers for the increased caseloads. Kendall primarily spoke on the recently re-opened Sweeten Creek Mental Health facility in Asheville.