Citing the need to protect its investment and property, the City of Greer has commenced legal action to foreclose on the former Allen Bennett Memorial Hospital Campus located on Wade Hampton Blvd. at Memorial Dr.

The City of Greer closed on the sale of the campus to Cardinal Real Estate Group, Inc. on Dec. 16, 2010, anticipating the development of the Seasons of Care assisted living complex.  That agreement included payment of the property’s $1.4 million purchase price to the city in full by February 1, 2011.  That payment was not made and remains outstanding.

“The city has worked with the Cardinal Group on an extension of the payment date during Cardinal’s attempt to secure financing for its project, but has determined at this time that it is in the best interest of the city to foreclose on the property and to resume marketing this prime property to interested developers,” City of Greer Attorney John Duggan said.  “Because this is a legal matter, I have advised city employees and elected officials to refrain from commenting or providing any information until the matter is resolved by the courts."

The Greenville Hospital System gifted the 10-acre site, which is anchored by the 168,000-square-foot former Allen Bennett Memorial Hospital building and includes the 44,000-square-foot former Roger Huntington Nursing Center, to the City of Greer in September of 2010.  The campus was largely vacated by the Greenville Hospital System when its new Greer Memorial Hospital campus opened in August of 2008.

After completing a period of due diligence researching Cardinal Real Estate and its Chief Executive Officer Garrick Good, the City of Greer closed on the purchase, which was announced at Cardinal Real Estate’s press conference at the former hospital on Dec. 21, 2010.  At that conference, Good unveiled Cardinal’s plans to convert the former hospital building into an assisted living facility and a portion of the former nursing center into a call center for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In addition to creating an estimated 50 additional jobs for the call center alone, the project also met Greer City Council’s priorities of adaptive re-use of the property, returning the property to the tax rolls, and creating a project that complemented the surrounding neighborhood.  Duggan said those priorities remain unchanged and that he anticipates the final sale of the campus to fully cover the city’s incurred costs.

The City of Greer’s project costs for the campus are currently $76,768.59, half of which was dedicated to heating, cooling, grounds maintenance, and minor repairs.