If someone had told me few weeks ago that I would be writing a post about Muhlenberg Hospital I probably would have not believe it as, after all, I dedicate my blogging to mostly school matters but knowing that our local star bloggers would not be there I saw the need to go and see if I could bring you some news on the meeting. Please have patience as Muhlenberg matters are quite complex and I am feeling like "fish out of water" here.
Anyway. The meeting was held at city hall and the mayor and Jerry Green were at the head of the table. Members of CAG (Community Advisory Group) were there as well as what looked like the main group of advocates that have been speaking up since Muhlenberg announced that it would close its doors. From the council I only saw Rebecca Williams (2nd and 3rd Ward).
The presentation was made by a Solaris administrator who later took questions from CAG and those of us who attended the meeting. Solaris is hoping to get the community support for the *vision they have come up with after commissioning a study of the site to the Otteau Valuation Group, Richard B. Reading Associates and the Urban Health Institute of NJ (UHI). The study documents can be found at the new website that JFK has built for this proposal to the community.
There are concerns from those community members who attended the meeting and these concerns go from who will be getting the work at this proposed site to demolition of the original hospital buildings to creating a full service emergency room and possible even a birth center. Solaris assured us that there will be more community meetings where you can come and express your opinions and wishes. We were told that one will also be able to leave messages at their new website starting tomorrow.
The presentation was that, a presentation of a vision. How it moves forward very much will depend on those who have been involved since the closing of Muhlenberg and those who want to join at this crucial time when Solaris is finally open to move on. It seems to me that there is plenty of room to meet in the middle if all involved, including Solaris and local elected officials, are open to listen, not hear, but listen to the community and the other way around.
To view the proposed vision for the Muhlenberg Hospital site and all background documents you can click HERE.
Note: When you read about Solaris vision please keep on mind that what Solaris is looking for at this very moment is a zoning change from whatever it is right now to "residential" so they can then bid the property to developers with a vision of what could possible be there already on mind, thus the presented "vision" last night is not a final version. That is why yours truly asked if there would be more community meetings so Solaris vision can then get the opinion of the community before the property goes up for bid, the response was that there were will be more community meetings and that if you, or your group, wants to organize a meeting with Solaris you can also arrange for such meeting. I will be keeping my ears open to find out when the next arranged meetings are and will try to keep you posted. I will write more later on on some of the issues and ideas that were discussed last night.
11 comments:
This proposal is horrible for Plainfield.
600 units with not enough parking -- supposedly "luxury" units. They won't sell, and they will end up section 8.
Solaris moved everything that was profitable out of Muhlenberg to Edison, and they engineered the closing. Now they want to tear down historic buildings, destroy a neighborhood, turn a buck at Plainfield's expense.
If we can't have a hospital, we can have different kinds of medical services at this location. It could become a medical teaching center, a center for specialized senior medicine, senior assisted living with a medical component.
Plainfield doesn't need more housing. Plainfield needs businesses which will create jobs.
I agree with Olive about this. Muhlenberg is a keystone to the city. It may not ever be the full service hospital of the past, but with the right partners and the determined efforts of community and elected leadership, it could still provide for much of our immediate medical needs.
I see it as the thematic core for other development on the campus and elsewhere in Plainfield.
We have Big Pharma, medical research, biotech, and all sorts of other healthcare related industries that are located throughout New Jersey. The city has space to spare. Why not a few research labs and some warehousing and distribution facilities?
Muhlenberg can be a springboard to commercial revitalization. It shouldn't be used to add to an oversupply of residential housing. Pull out the keystone and the arch will come tumbling down.
When is anyone going to understand that Solaris raped Plainfield buy taking over, not buying Muhlenberg, pulling all its money making resources to JFK, claiming it lost money, took all its endowments that were left to “Plainfield & Muhlenberg”. They took it all to Edison, lost 1000+ jobs, Doctors are moving out in Plainfield due to no medical facility and told us that no one was interested in the building. BTW, when did they buy the building? Who got the money, Plainfield? Seems you can take over a corporation but what about the real-estate? I guess if I keep telling you that I own “your” house long enough you will believe it and move out!
Wake up Plainfield, we don’t need housing, we saw what happened to the great Senior Center. Oh yes, let me tell you that I don’t appreciate Mr. Assemblyman Green stating that (to condense) there is no hope for downtown and efforts should be spent on South Avenue, North Avenue and this ridiculous project. He also stated that South Plainfield contacted him to see if the project was real because they would ramp up their efforts to put more business in their area, to pull more people AWAY from using Plainfield businesses. Aren’t we trying to bring business INTO Plainfield? I say again, wake up Plainfield. Who do these people serve?
Here is how I see it. Solaris just wants to dump the site and get the check.
They can draw all the pretty pictures they want, but once a developer owns the property, all bets are off.
If Solaris was serious about wanting community input then:
1 - Why are they not looking at the Charette or other planning documents to see what was planned for the site
2 - Don't we have a master plan for Plainfield. Why isn't Solaris talking to planning or zoning (I always get them mixed up) or the person on staff, the person in charge of Economic Development, in Plainfield (who we pay to have on staff) to see what they think?
3 - Why aren't they engaging the community around the hospital? Those people know their neighborhood, and would be instrumental in giving their thoughts about what works and what doesn't?
Lastly, I keep hearing that there are people interested in the site. Developers have approached the city, but to no avail? Why isn't the administration bringing the developers to the community. Who better to "sell" than the community who would welcome reasonable and appropriate development?
I have said it before, Plainfield has a lot of stupid people making decisions for Plainfield.
I hate to burst the bubble of those who want Muhlenberg back as a large hospital, but it won't happen. We have too many people who can't afford health care and have no way to pay for it. Many of these people don't even have a permanent address. The cost of providing free health care to so many means disaster for any fiscal viability for a hospital in our area. We need something that will work, and maybe the Muhlenberg area might attract a good rental clientle, but I'm not sure of that. There is a great deal of predjudice against Plainfield by people who haven't spent any time here.
We need full-time jobs in Plainfield and this administration has not been mindful of that. Perhaps other ideas need to be developed and then we can pick the one that best serves the citizens of Plainfield.
I attended the meeting last night and came away with such a feeling of hopelessness. I was left with the impression that this was a done deal and regardless of what was shared in that meeting last night JFK and Jerry Green have made the decision to demolition the hospitable and build so called “luxury apartments”. Personal I believe this deal was done four years ago, even before they closed Muhlenberg; the writing was on the wall.
The last thing Plainfield needs is another apartment complex right in the middle of single family homes. These so called luxury apartments will become nothing more than a PROJECT and we all know this to be true. Plainfield does not have the leadership to erect and maintain luxury apartments. One might ask what Plainfield has to offer that will entice anyone that can afford and appreciate luxury apartments to move to Plainfield and the answer would be nothing. Without any doubt these 600 units will become occupied with nothing but section 8 tenants, drugs, gangs and eventually the demise of the neighborhood. There were many good and realistic options that were offered at the meeting last night that would bring commerce to our community and some needed tax relief. However, as I said the deal was made and the powers that be are determine to put up another PROJECT in Plainfield.
It appears that Plainfield cares very little about homeowners and would prefer to have a town full of renters that won’t challenge our elected official at voting time. It’s easy to garner votes from citizens when they are not tax payers and don’t realize how ineffective our government truly is and don’t really have anything invested in the community.
JFK stated last night that they were interested in engaging the community and homeowners. I ask, when will that be, once you get approval from the zoning board and the meeting would be nothing more than a worthless gripe session?
The figures JFK used for the number of new students entering the city is way off and unrealistic. The number per year for 50 students is more like $700K, $14,000 per child.
At this time Plainfield does not have a rental shortage, so where will the tenants come from to fill up 600 units? On Jerry Greens blog yesterday he spoke about Obama money for homes that are being foreclosure on. His idea is to loan the money to investors to purchase the properties, rehab them, if needed and turn them into rental homes. If we truly have a foreclosures crisis in Plainfield then his idea will only add to the rental inventory. We do not need any more rental PROJECTS!!
We are kidding ourselves if we really believe that we can get any kind of upscale retailers to embrace Plainfield. I don’t see that happening on any level!
Jim Spiers, made a comment last night about Plainfielder’s being afraid of new developments in the city. I resent your implication about space. You implied that the denser the area was the better chance we would have to attract retailers. What are we cockroaches just pile us all on top of each other regardless. Being that Plainfield is predominantly black and Hispanic your remarks were very rude and did not go unnoticed.
The real question that was not address last night would be who is to gain from this deal? I can name a few people, including elected official that stand to gain by doing a project of this size.
I am committed to going to every homeowner in the area to make them aware of what is going on and to put a stop to this before it gets and further.
JFK come up with another plan; this one is not going to work!
rc
I have lived in the Muhlenberg Hospital neighborhood for the last 38 years and it has been a well kept neighborhood of single family homes,especially going toward Woodland Avenue.The last thing that my neighborhood needs is apartments that will, in the final analysis have to be rented to persons who in no way can afford luxury apartments.My neighborhood will be destroyed!
Margaret
All I read are comments from people who have no idea how hard it is to get a developer to take over a property with environmental concerns and no hope for bringing in medical tenants so far from a full service hospital. MBH or any other full service medical facility is ever coming back to that site. What will occur in August 2013 if we do nothing is this... Solaris will construct a cyclone fence around that property, close the ER and we will be left with an eyesore like the Park Madison lot was for the next 20 years. This is about business and profits. If you want to continue to fight for some pipe dream of revitalizing a medical facility which is long gone you will be left out in the cold with nothing but your dreams. Solaris owes you nothing. If you think you can get a builder to take over that site, then do it. If not stop trying to kill the few options you do have still available to you because you still got a bug up your tail over the closing.
The "bug up my tail" is not over the closing of the hospitable, it's over the fact that you are trying to destroy a stable neighborhood of hard working, tax paying homeowners. I would prefer the eye-sore to a 600 unit PROJECT full of section 8, drug dealing, gang banging tenants. And Mr Mapp just because you did not show up at the meeting last night don't think that we are not holding you to the fire on this. Remember you will need to come knocking on our doors for votes! I know every homeowner in the area would prefer the eye-sore to the PROJECTS!
rc
If this roject goes forward, it wi further lower our quality of ife and drive down property values. In protest, everyone who is waiting for the real estate market to turn around should start clearing out their homes and ist them for sale. If there are for sale igns on every block,how will the banks justify funding more real estate,
Weren't we just on the news as the foreclosure caital of the county? "The bank owns my town."
Who is the develoer? Who will gain even if the rojects is a failutre?
To 12:27pm - you are the epitomy of Plainfield problems and why this city needs you to move. People in this city see potential, and progress. More and more of us are becoming involved, so those of you who think that Plainfield will never be or get anything better need to get out of our way.
There are alternatives. There are options. And people like you who are just scared and feel like you are a victim, need to let the rest of us move and get this city going. You will receive residual benefits, but I am sure you have no vision as to how that would happen.
Sell you home to someone who sees the potential in this city.
Post a Comment