Fresno County supervisors believe they are on the verge of selling University Medical Center. They will know by October 10.
Fresno County supervisors believe there is enough bidder interest in the buildings and grounds to put them up for public bidding, according to Supervisor Steve Brandau.
Superintendent Nathan Magsig said there are “interested parties.”
They will vote Tuesday to open the auction period for the sale of the 33-acre former hospital. Supervisors don’t want less than $6 million. They will select the best offer at the October 10 supervisors meeting.
Superintendent Steve Brandau said there has always been interest in the building across from the Fresno Fairgrounds.
RELATED STORY: The sale of the long-vacant UMC has been hailed as a big win for Fresno
Main hospital building ‘at the end of its economic life’
The two six-story towers and other buildings total 412,280 square feet, according to the county report.
Brandao said the demolition costs have discouraged a number of interested buyers. While the smaller buildings are in average to fair condition, the main hospital itself “has reached the end of its economic life,” the county report said.
Demolition costs could range between $12 million and $13 million, according to Bobby Fina, senior vice president of Colliers International, the commercial real estate firm marketing the building.
The county spends $1 million annually to maintain unoccupied parts of the hospital, according to a county report.
The Fresno County Behavioral Health Department is still working on site.
Given the size of the lot and the location, Brandao said the buyer will have a lot of flexibility in the use of the building.
According to the county report, any housing built on the property must have at least 15% affordable units.
The vacant 33-acre University Medical Center contains two main towers and a large number of different buildings at the corner of Kings Canyon Road and South Cedar Street. (Fresno County)
The city-county construction group is calling for complicity in the UMC construction disaster
In June 2021, county supervisors declared the land surplus, the first step in selling the building.
Construction company CMG has come up with plans to build more than 800 residential units in a mixed-use center on the site. However, CMG needed the City of Fresno to sign the agreement in order to receive affordable housing construction dollars.
RELATED STORY: City wants old UMC campus. Will the county sell it for $4.25 million?
In April 2021, the city proposed purchasing the building for $6 million.
The deal fell apart when it emerged that one of Supervisor Sal Quintero’s employees had a personal financial interest in CMG, Inc. – It is the company of supervisors in the construction company that was originally tapped to develop the project.
Fresno City Council members in 2022 voted against the plan.
CMG sued both the county and the city for breach of contract, alleging that the two parties conspired to torpedo the project in order to steal the company’s building designs, according to court documents.
A call placed by GV Wire to CMG attorneys Nicholas Wagner and David Doyle seeking comment was not immediately returned.