Â鶹´«Ã½

State officials have said there is interest in reusing the current Broughton Hospital property and buildings once the new hospital opens. A public-private partnership was proposed two years ago to reuse state land in Â鶹´«Ã½ for education, housing and hospitality. The North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics was expected to go on the property. However, delays in the construction of the new Broughton Hospital forced the school to look at other options and it finally chose space on the North Carolina School for the Deaf.

Since NCSSM decided on NCSD property, a re-envisioned proposed plan for the current Broughton Hospital was recently released. It says renovated buildings and property on the hospital campus could include a discovery center that would be a catalyst for private development of other parts of the property.

The plan also says that following the opening of the new Broughton Hospital, the state Department of Health and Human Services will have a temporary need for some facilities on the current hospital campus for residual functions. The plan says the buildings that would be retained would be WorkSource West campus, Hooper, South and Gym buildings. It says DHHS has confirmed it can eventually locate all necessary facilities on the new hospital campus with sufficient funding.

The redevelopment of the nearly 800 acres of state-owned property in Â鶹´«Ã½ around Broughton Hospital would be done in phases and is a 10-year plan.

The proposed reuse plans calls for:

Ìý

Housing

» Phase I — Single-family homes with artisan village retail that would involve adaptive reuse of existing buildings and new construction and 45,000-square-foot barn reuse on 18 acres with private development cost of $28.9 million. Year 1-3 of the project.

» Phase II - Multi-Family housing that would be 90 units in adaptive reuse buildings and 96 units of new construction on 19 acres with private development costs at $38.8 million. Year 4-6 of the project.

Ìý

Senior Living

» Phase IV — Option 1 would be 144 units of active senior apartments from new construction and adaptive reuse of the Colony Building on 10 acres with a private development cost of $26.7 million. Year 8-10 of the project.

Option 2 would be 154 units of senior living in the Avery Building that includes one- and two-bedroom units, as well as efficiency units with 17,000 square feet of amenities and basement storage on 18 Acres with private development costs of $73.5 million. Year 8-10 of the project.

Ìý

Hotels

» Phase I — New hotel with 100 rooms on 6 acres with a private investment of $9.3 million. Year 1-3 of the project.

» Phase IV – Option 1 would be a 118-room boutique hotel with a 20,000-square-foot c onference facility and 45 adaptive reuse condos in the Avery Building on 18 Acres with a private development cost of $70.6 million. Year 8-10 of the project.

Option 2 would be a 120 -room boutique hotel, spa and conference facility in the Colony Building on 18 acres with private development costs of $26.7 million. Year 8-10 of the project.

Ìý

Discovery Center

» Phase III — Western NC Discovery Center that would include 40,000 square feet of adaptive reuse, new auditorium construction, 30,000 square feet of new commercial space on 15 acres with private development costs at $6.1 million and public development costs (tax dollars) at $14 million. The center is proposed to be aimed primarily at students 6 through 14 and would provide hands-on learning through doing, according to the proposed plans.

It would have 5,000-10,000 square feet of permanent exhibit space, a 2,000-3,000-square-foot fine arts gallery, a 300-seat capacity auditorium, 4,000-6,000 square feet of temporary exhibition gallery space, 1,500-3,000 square feet of flexible classrooms and 5,000-6,000 square feet of learning labs. The center would have a focus on history, natural sciences and art. Outdoor spaces would include trails, gardens, natural water feature and a sculpture park, according to proposed plans.

Ìý

The plans also call for a greenway to run through the center of the property.

The plan says much of the redevelopment hinges on the relocation of the Western Piedmont Community College Emergency Services Training Center off Coal Chute Road in Â鶹´«Ã½. It says the likely best relocation for it would be on the campus of Freedom High School.

The state would be responsible for demolition of any building in the district that it controls that is not identified for redevelopment in the district, the proposed plan says.

Ìý

Sharon McBrayer can be reached at smcbrayer@morganton.com or at 828-432-8946.