LANCASTER, Pa. — UPMC has reached an agreement with a buyer and principal developer for the sale of the former UPMC Pinnacle Lancaster Hospital, the City of Lancaster announced on its website.
The developer plans to turn the building into a mixed-use development with housing, retail, and office spaces available, the city says. The plan submitted to the city by Washington Place Equities calls for more than 100 affordable housing units, which the city says is a benchmark "that beats aggressive inclusionary zoning targets in cities around the country."
HDC MidAtlantic, which the city says is Lancaster's largest affordable housing developer, is partnering with WPE on the project.
UPMC will bring a rezoning petition to the Lancaster City Council on August 3, followed by two public readings at full Council meetings at dates to be determined, the city said.
The UPMC Lancaster Hospital building, located at 250 College Avenue, has been vacant since February 2019, when UPMC moved its emergency and inpatient care to a facility in Lititz.
"The City has asked WPE to be as transparent as possible in sharing their plans for the site," the City of Lancaster said on its website. "Since late last year, the City Administration has been engaged in extensive negotiations with UPMC and prospective developers to ensure that public policy goals will be met through the redevelopment.
"The City Planning Commission, the City Council, and numerous advocates and stakeholders have played an essential role in shaping an exciting mixed-use, mixed-income vision."
More than 30 percent of the total housing units developed under WPE and HDC's plan will be designated "affordable," the city said.
"In addition to providing affordable housing, the initial project concept will preserve historic mid-20th century buildings, provide market-rate rental and home ownership options, retail and office space marketed to locally-owned businesses, will sustain existing medical services across the street on College Avenue, integrate green and sustainable business practices and reactivate an entire city block that currently sits vacant and underutilized," the city said in its announcement.
WPE and HDC will host an online community meeting for neighborhood residents about the development on August 6.
WPE and HDC are committed to continually engage the community as the project evolves, the City of Lancaster said.
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