A preliminary bid has been placed on a collection of former Hahnemann University Hospital buildings nearly six years after the healthcare provider filed for bankruptcy.
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Dwight City Group LLC’s $16.25M bid was the first in an auction proposed for July 16, according to court documents obtained by The Philadelphia Inquirer. Bids will be due July 11 if that schedule holds.
“It’s an important location for the city,” Dwight City CEO Judah Angster told the Inquirer of the site on Broad Street between Race and Vine streets.
The New York City-based company with offices in Upper Darby is considering a mix of residential and hotel uses. Dwight City has a particularly strong presence in Philly’s outlying neighborhoods and working-class, inner-ring suburbs.
“We think that because it’s across the street from the Convention Center, if we master plan it the right way, it’ll completely change the dynamic of that section of North Broad,” Angster told the Inquirer.
The buildings are expected to require extensive remediation, including asbestos removal. Angster is still figuring out how the complex could be redeveloped.
“These buildings are interconnected and very complicated,” Angster said. “The complexity of the utility systems, how they interconnect between all of the buildings, is something we’re trying to fully understand and comprehend.”
Dwight earlier this year paid $8.5M for Anderson Hall, a piece of the former University of the Arts campus at 329-335 S. Broad St. The developer plans to convert it into a mix of apartments, retail, and artist lofts or offices.
The former UArts building is one of nine properties that were auctioned after the institution filed for bankruptcy last year. The final property, Gershman Hall at 401-411 S. Broad St., was purchased for $6.7M last month.
Court-appointed listing agent JLL expected the portfolio to catch a collective $87M, but the final tally came out to just under $67M.
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