Muhlenberg Town Hall Monday

Conceptual plan, 2014

Mayor Adrian O. Mapp is holding a Town Hall Meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, July 11 at the Senior Center, 400 E. Front St. to discuss plans for the Muhlenberg Campus.

Click on links below for background information from prior blog posts..

The campus housed Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center until August 2008, when it closed. Since then, hopes of reopening the hospital have not materialized. In 2012, a study by the site's owners recommended development of 600 apartments, a notion roundly rejected by city residents.

The site was the subject of a 2014 city-sponsored study by a planning firm which recommended rezoning for "health care." Again, residents protested any housing on the site, not even for veterans..

A capacity crowd jammed City Hall Library in September 2015 to hear results of an "in need of redevelopment" study for the campus. The former hospital building was described as too far deteriorated to be used for anything, but the owners and city officials agreed not to use eminent domain to take the site.

 A satellite emergency department was relocated from the hospital to another building, leaving a 10-acre parcel available for redevelopment.

Next, the city hired a real estate company in December 2015 to solicit and evaluate proposals for the site look at possible uses. In January, Councilwoman Diane Toliver suggested at a council meeting that the site should be used for a new municipal complex that would locate all city services under one roof.

In March, the city issued a "Request for Proposals" notice for the site.

As described on the city website, on Monday "The topic of discussion will be the proposed redevelopment of the former Muhlenberg Hospital site Don’t miss this opportunity to get an understanding of the development process and the function of the proposed structure."

--Bernice