Neighbors like plan to reuse Carson hospital

Neighbors of the Carson-Tahoe Hospital understandably were worried what would happen to the hospital property after completion of a $132-million new regional medical center at the north end of the city.

After all, the existing hospital is immediately adjacent to residential areas on three sides, and the fourth side includes a mix of residential and commercial uses.

So far, however, the city government likes what it has seen of plans to redevelop the old hospital site once the regional medical center opens in late 2005.

For the most part, the neighborhood won't see a lot of change.

The 103-bed hospital will be converted into a long-term acute-care hospital, officials said a few days ago.

An acute-care hospital, a designation that's granted by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, is one in which the patients' average stay is at least 25 days.

That means patients are those recovering from catastrophic illnesses or injuries.

Another possible use of part of the hospital building is a specialized eye center, said Ed Epperson, chief executive officer of the hospital.

Bigger changes are possible, however, with three office buildings at the south edge of the approximately six acres owned by the hospital along Fleischmann Street in central Carson City.

A consultant has recommended that the buildings might be converted to senior housing or assisted living facilities.

Epperson said the hospital hasn't decided if the buildings would be torn down and replaced.

An alternative, he said, would be leaving the buildings' shells and extensively renovating their interiors.

Carson City officials like the way that the hospital approached the task of redeveloping the property, said Walter Sullivan, the city's planning and community development director.

"The hospital has been very proactive," Sullivan said.

"They've been very neighborhood- friendly."

He noted, for example, that the hospital's planning process included a brainstorming session that involved neighbors as well as other Carson City residents.

Epperson said redevelopment that would protect property values in the neighborhood was a priority for the nonprofit hospital's board of directors.

For instance, he said hospital officials like the plan to develop a long-term acutecare hospital in part because it will give physicians a reason to keep their offices in the neighborhood.

The new regional medical center, Epperson said, is on schedule for its 2005 opening even though high winds meant crews lost several working days.

Hunt Construction Group, an Indianapolis-based company, is the general contractor on the project.

Along with hospitals and large public buildings, the company specializes in sports stadiums and has built most of the professional baseball and football stadiums to open around the nation in the past decade.