Detailed reuse plan for St. Elizabeth in the works, one for current market conditions

Amy Neff Roth, Observer-Dispatch
·3 min read

The St. Elizabeth Campus of the Mohawk Valley Health System is one step closer to being redeveloped after it closes later this year, along with the St. Luke’s Campus, to move into the Wynn Hospital, now in the final stages of construction in downtown Utica.

The health system and the City of Utica have jointly hired a five-company development team, led by the Buffalo-based law firm of Rupp Pfalzgraf, to draft a reuse plan for the campus, although the St. Elizabeth College of Nursing will remain at its current location on the campus.

“The City of Utica is excited about both the opening of the Wynn Hospital and the potential for the St. Elizabeth campus,” Mayor Robert Palmieri said. “It was important that the planning process involve creative and competent professionals that involve our residents in developing an exciting plan. I think we have found a partner that is more than qualified to meet the challenge at hand. I look forward to the work we all have ahead of us.”

St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Utica, which opened in 1917, will become vacant when the Wynn Hospital opens in downtown Utica, which is expected in October, 2023.
St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Utica, which opened in 1917, will become vacant when the Wynn Hospital opens in downtown Utica, which is expected in October, 2023.

The team includes expertise in architecture, transportation, engineering, planning, community engagement and market feasibility.

Their plan, expected to be completed by the end of the year, will take community engagement and the surrounding neighborhood into consideration, officials said.  The Wynn Hospital will open in late October.

City and health system officials had announced in April that they were putting out a request for proposal for a consulting firm for a reuse plan.

From the moment construction of the Wynn Hospital was announced, city residents have expressed concerns the existing hospitals on the St. Elizabeth and St. Luke’s campuses would sit vacant and unused for years. Health system and city officials have sworn their commitment to finding a new owner and new use for the properties.

A 2019 study done by the health system in partnership with the Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties looked at potential reuse options for the St. Luke’s, St. Elizabeth and Faxton campuses, although the health system has since decided to keep using its Faxton campus for outpatient services.

“However, the COVID-19 pandemic changed many things, including the way real estate was being developed,” MVHS President/CEO Darlene Stromstad explained. “This partnership with the City of Utica, and now Rupp Pfalzgraf, on a master re-use plan for the St. Elizabeth Campus will help evaluate options for the campus in current real estate development conditions – and is especially important as we move toward the opening of the Wynn Hospital on October 29, 2023.”

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The health system and the city have insisted these principles be used to develop the plan:

  • Along Genesee Street in South Utica, any development must include of mixture of uses that fits in with what already exists there.

  • The rest of the property should have upscale, single-family homes with a mix of attached and detached types.

  • Buildings on the property should reflect the scale, style and architecture of the surrounding homes and businesses.

  • The project should include “engaging public spaces,” such as public art, shade trees and four-season amenities for outdoor gatherings, markets and recreation.

  • The design should be sustainable, use resources efficiently, include a green infrastructure and urban canopy, and preserve natural areas.

The firm of Rupp Pfalzgraf has experience repurposing medical campuses across the state, including:

  • Redeveloping the former Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Buffalo into Elmwood Crossing, 128,000 square feet of commercial and retail space with apartments, condominiums, townhomes and a hotel also in the project.

  • Turning the Millard Fillmore Gates Circle Hospital in Buffalo into Lancaster Square at Gates Circle, a redevelopment that includes residential units.

  • The demolition of Corning Hospital and construction of a 130-unit residential building and a training facility on its site for SUNY Corning Community College’s health care programs.

This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Utica, MVHS jointly hire consultants for St. Elizabeth reuse plan