Four years after MetroSouth Medical Center in Blue Island closed, the city has a front-runner to occupy the space.
After years of little interest from developers for the hospital at 12935 Gregory St., the Blue Island Planning and the Zoning Board of Appeals approved an application from the property owners, Veteran Services, LLC, and Lockwood Development Partners, to transform the building into a multiuse health complex.
They plan to offer a variety of medical and commercial uses including senior housing and a grocer.
“The highest and best use would be senior living,” said Dan McNulty, a consultant for Lockwood Development Partners. “When the hospital pulled out … that kind of left a void for certain medical services.”
Despite the Planning and Zoning approval, there is still a ways to go, said city administrator Thomas Wogan.
“Planning and Zoning is a recommending body,” Wogan wrote in an email. “Their approval is not the final approval of the City. The application now moves to the City Council for their approval or denial.”
The application states a quarter of the property’s 550,000 square feet will be used for medical services such as occupational health, MRI imaging and physical therapy. There will also be a 23-room hotel for family staying overnight and a grocer with a footprint between 8,000 and 28,000 square feet.
Renderings of the senior center area provide a glimpse of what the spaces might look like as the developer repurposes existing rooms. Studio bedrooms would range between 350 and 450 square feet while one-bedroom units would be roughly double the size. Rooms would be complete with a kitchenette, work corner, TV wall and living room space. Planned building amenities include a workout and spa area, a movie theater, game rooms, a library and a garden.
The building has played host to a variety of uses, even a film studio, but there has been no long-term tenant since the hospital closed. It was prepared to possibly host COVID-19 patients during the pandemic but was never used.
Leaders in the Blue Island community, including fire Chief David Haywood Jr., have posed a variety of questions for the developers hoping to learn more about how they plan to accomplish all of their goals.
“From our experience, people that go to the Urgent Care may need more advanced care that cannot be provided by Urgent Care,” he wrote in a letter to Lockwood Development Partners. “Are you planning on using the Blue Island Fire Department for this?”
Lockwood Development Partners responded that as long as the urgent care center is primarily serving customers in Blue Island, officials don’t anticipate increased calls for services from the Fire Department.
Other questions asked include the ratio of security guards to occupants. The Public Works Department noted a need to make alterations to crosswalks and sidewalks to comply with constraints outlined in the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Fourth Ward Ald. Bill Fahrenwald said Wednesday he is “cautiously hopeful,” but also has some skepticism about the plan.
“Obviously we all want this building to be put to some kind of viable use that’s beneficial to the community,” Fahrenwald said. “I just want to make sure that (Lockwood Development Partners) are capable of actually executing a project as ambitious as this one is.”
Fahrenwald said his ward borders the old hospital but added whatever happens will affect all of Blue Island.
While the space is in desperate need for a new tenant, a developer beginning and not finishing a plan would be worse than the present situation, he said. But he also said he will allow Lockwood Development Partners “every opportunity” to prove they can accomplish its plans.
McNulty said Lockwood Development Partners and its capital partners are committed to see the project through, but said a lot rides on the zoning discussions and decisions.
“We’re very anxious to get started,” he said. “It’s a big project, it’s very important for the city of Blue Island. We want to make sure the we do this right because it’s going to be a great economic generator and a nice community space for all — inside and outside.”
hsanders@chicagotribune.com