A Norfolk developer who specializes in turning historic buildings into upscale apartments is eyeing a new project — redeveloping a hospital.

Frank “Buddy” Gadams plans to purchase and redevelop the former Bon Secours DePaul Medical Center hospital complex and turn the property into apartments. The property has been under contract to Marathon Development Group, Gadams’ development company, for around a week, said Raffaele Allen, the company’s chief operating officer.

“We see DePaul as a landmark in the city of Norfolk and we want to see that preserved,” Allen said.

The hospital property went on the market in December 2021. Bon Secours is selling most of the 15-acre complex, except for a few buildings it doesn’t own. A real estate listing said close to 1 million square feet of space was on the market, but Allen said the actual number is closer to 500,000 square feet.

Marathon is still in the very early planning stages of the redevelopment process, Allen said, so many details are still being decided. Company leaders are planning on apartments being part of the project and a multiuse aspect being included as well. Allen said Gadams grew interested in the property because of the opportunity to restore a landmark that would be an asset for the city.

Allen said the company will spend some time talking to neighborhood residents and other community stakeholders about what they would like to see in a redevelopment project.

Hospital leaders put the property up for sale with the goal of strategic redevelopment, spokesperson Emma Swann said in an email.

“We are all hopeful that the eventual sale of this property will allow it to take on a prosperous new life, bringing jobs and investment to the city of Norfolk,” Swann said.

The hospital was constructed in 1944 and delivered health care services to Norfolk neighborhoods like Wards Corner and Ocean View for decades. But demand for its services slowed in recent years with only 20 to 30 patients seen daily during the height of the pandemic, the health system had reported.

Swann declined to say the property’s selling price, and Allen said he could only share the price once the sale closed due to a nondisclosure agreement.

During his time as a developer, Gadams has transformed several downtown Norfolk buildings into upscale apartment complexes like Icon Norfolk and The Rockefeller. One of his most recent projects is Gravity at 400, a $45.8 million, 273-unit development located next to Icon.

Trevor Metcalfe, 757-222-5345, trevor.metcalfe@pilotonline.com