Calls grow to save hospital building as Atlanta Medical Center faces redevelopment
Plans to redevelop the former Wellstar Atlanta Medical Center will soon take a step toward reality, but a historic preservation organization is calling for the hospital's history to be incorporated into future rebuilding plans.
Why it matters: Wellstar's surprise closure of the 500-bed hospital in 2022 left Grady Memorial Hospital as the only Level I trauma center in metro Atlanta that can treat gunshot wounds and traumatic brain injuries.
The vacant site owned by Wellstar suddenly became a lucrative opportunity for developers looking to cash in on its prime location in the booming Old Fourth Ward neighborhood.
Driving the news: Wellstar and The Integral Group, its redevelopment partner, last month named California-based Ferma Corporation the contractor to demolish parts of the structure deemed "unsafe and unstable," such as the circular parking structure on the north side of the site, Wellstar said in a press release.
Ferma said in a press release that demolition will begin in March, and that it's expected to be completed later this year.
Catch up quick: In the weeks after the hospital announced its closure in 2022, the city of Atlanta imposed a moratorium on redevelopment of the 25-acre site.
City Council members this past September approved a land use plan that outlines what it envisions for the site.
In October, Wellstar released a redevelopment plan that includes commercial uses, green space, affordable housing and other residential components.
What they're saying: Richard White, senior vice president at The Integral Group, the chief developer of the campus, told Axios in a statement that the company is doing a comprehensive "structure-by-structure assessment" of the site.
He also said the company is "committed to honoring the former Atlanta Medical Center campus' rich history" and will work with the community to celebrate its legacy.
"Our plan will actively incorporate community assets to ensure this history remains a meaningful part of the redevelopment," he said, adding those details will be shared later this year.
Yes, but: For David Mitchell, executive director of the Atlanta Preservation Center, that assessment should include a review of what parts of the facility can be saved from the wrecking ball.
The building, he said, has great adaptive reuse potential and can give people who were born there a "sense of recognition and to let them know that their experience matters."
Flashback: The Old Fourth Ward site was originally home to a dormitory, which was built in 1921, for nurses who worked at the original Georgia Baptist Hospital on Luckie Street, according to Chris Jackson of the historic preservation consulting firm Verity Works.
Georgia Baptist Hospital, a privately-owned institution, needed more space and couldn't raise money in time to expand, so the dormitory was converted into a hospital.
The complex underwent large expansions in the 1950s, and the hospital was upgraded throughout the rest of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Its name was changed to Atlanta Medical Center when the Georgia Baptist Convention sold it to Tenet in 1997, and it was sold to Wellstar in 2016.
What's next: Once demolition is complete, public infrastructure design, financing and construction will begin on the main site.
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