A vision of "healthy village" for General Hospital has everything but funding
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The developer chosen to turn L.A.’s iconic but derelict General Hospital building into the centerpiece of a 30.8-acre healthy village has produced a high-concept master plan that blends affordable housing, local business, food courts, cultural venues and community gardens with the county’s largest health and mental health complex.A series of water color plates and tick-tock scenarios portray a future where people from Boyle Heights and beyond will mingle with new on-site residents, hospital staff and patients for shopping, outdoor dining and recreation.All that’s needed to realize this vision of an Eastside mecca is patience and money.The developer estimates the project will take 15 years to complete and require $1 billion to $2 billion in private, philanthropic and taxpayer funds that have yet to be secured.Preparations have been underway for nearly a year — out of public view — as the development team Centennial Partners cleared furniture, fixtures and detritus from the 19-story building that ceased to function as a hospital in 2008.
Tenants who occupied the lower four floors are vacating, and a seismic upgrade will begin later this year.By summer, more visible construction will begin on the land west of the towering Art Deco building that long appeared in the title scene of the TV soap opera “General Hospital.” Several outdated and temporary buildings will be removed to make way for a massive grading project that will sculpt a 40-foot elevation drop into a terraced walkway tying the old and new elements of the village together.1 2 1.
The historic General Hospital in Los Angeles on March 18.2.
A tour of the historic General Hospital in Los Angeles on March 18.The grading and retrofit are funded with a $120 million cobbled by the county from local, state and federal sources to prepare a clean slate for investors large and small to build out the vision o...