After meeting in closed session for a little over 30 minutes Monday night, Jan. 6, the Franklin Town Council voted to spend $61,650 on a feasibility study to identify possible future uses for the former Angel Medical Center site on Riverview Street. UNC Chapel Hill School of Government’s Development Finance Initiative will conduct the study.
Hospital owner HCA-Mission Health has offered the property to the Town of Franklin, but at this time HCA still owns the property.
The council voted 3-1 to fund the study, with council member David Culpeper casting the no vote. Council members Joe Collins and Mike Lewis were not present.
Culpepper said he did not think the town should spend money on a study for property they may never own. The study will include market research, an analysis of the site and the possibility of attracting private investments as well as other financial options for developing the property.
Vice Mayor Stacy Guffey said there is value in the study because it will help the town develop a plan for the property even if there is a partnership with a private developer.
“It’s a rarity to have a property that size in downtown,” said Guffey. “I would really like to see a new downtown neighborhood and the economic viability of that.”
Guffey noted that there is a housing crisis in the county and that the old hospital campus could be developed to help alleviate some of that.