Petersburg hospital site’s future unclear

The old Southside Regional Medical Center building -- on a 24-acre site near downtown Petersburg--will be demolished.

But the future of 801 S. Adams St., with a land value estimated at $522,700, is unknown, said Handy L. Lindsey Jr., president of the Cameron Foundation, a nonprofit organization that owns the facility.

"Plans are being developed," he said, noting that a committee composed of foundation board members and city leaders will determine what to do with the property.

The foundation also owns nearby buildings that house the hospital's School of Nursing and its cancer center. Those buildings will continue to be occupied by the hospital for five years, officials said.

The old hospital building is centrally located, about a mile from Old Towne Petersburg with access to Interstate 95, in a region experiencing development and growth, officials said.

The city will work closely with the foundation to weigh options, including residential and commercial developments, Petersburg Mayor Annie M. Mickens said.

Before the decision was made to tear it down, Mickens said she had hoped the 55-year-old building would be turned into an academic institution or a research facility.

The Cameron Foundation was created after the city of Petersburg sold Southside Regional Medical Center to Tennessee-based Community Health Systems Inc. Its goal is to promote and supply programs that will benefit residents of Petersburg and area localities served by the hospital.

Foundation officials said the immediate plan is to keep the old hospital facility secure.

Southside Regional, which moved to a new building on Medical Park Boulevard off South Crater Road, still has some items in the building that will be salvaged and sold. Hospital officials have until early October to release the building to the foundation.

Lindsey said it is unknown how much the demolition will cost or how soon it will happen.

Meantime, the committee will work with a consultant to explore options for redevelopment and to review proposals from developers.

"We have not ruled out anything," Lindsey said.
Contact Luz Lazo at (804) 649-6058 or .