City of Utica, MVHS plan to redevelop St. Elizabeth Medical Center property

UTICA, N.Y. — The City of Utica and the Mohawk Valley Health System (MVHS) have agreed to partner on the development of a master re-use plan for the St. Elizabeth Medical Center campus.

The focus on redeveloping the property comes as the Wynn Hospital prepares to open in October, meaning MVHS will be vacating large portions of the St. Elizabeth campus, per the announcement.

MVHS is an affiliation of Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare and St. Elizabeth Medical Center, both of Utica. The two organizations teamed up in March 2014.

The City of Utica, through its Industrial Development Agency (IDA), and MVHS have agreed to share the cost of hiring a consultant team.

The consultant team will have experience in the areas of urban planning, landscape architecture, market analysis, civil engineering, and environmental remediation, per the joint announcement.

Through the partnership, the consultant team will help Utica and MVHS in identifying a variety of re-use scenarios, getting the public involved in reviewing and selecting preferred scenarios, and detailing the steps necessary to “implement the new vision” for the nearly 23-acre campus.

MVHS had previously sought developers interested in purchasing the campus in its current condition, a process that was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the organizations said.

The plan will include anticipated costs and will recommend “creative options” for public financing. The City of Utica and MVHS will have the consultant team develop cost estimates on the demolition of the various campus buildings, “should state or federal funding become available.”

Through the development of the plan, the city and MVHS say they want land uses and development that’s “appropriate for the south Utica neighborhood.” As part of their agreement, the partners have laid out several principals for the re-use.

They include providing for a “mixture of uses consistent” with the Genesee Street corridor as it exists within that section of South Utica; for the balance of the property, providing for upscale, single-family residential development with a mix of ownership styles (attached and detached); and scale, style, and architecture reflective of the surrounding neighborhoods and commercial districts.

“The Wynn Hospital project has been a transformational project in the City of Utica and we need to make sure that positive transformation extends to the properties being vacated, particularly St. Elizabeth,” Utica Mayor Robert Palmieri said. “While redeveloping this campus will be a challenge, it’s also an opportunity to ensure our city and its neighborhoods continue to grow and thrive. I’m happy that MVHS has committed to our shared goal of making sure that there’s something wonderful in store for South Utica and our entire city.”

With assistance from Mohawk Valley EDGE, a request for proposals has been developed and is being advertised through the state’s Contract Reporter. Responses are due by 3:15 p.m. on Feb. 16.