Developer plans 50-story towers for Cobble Hill hospital site

Cobble Hill may end up with a full-service hospital after all. But, there’s a catch.

Brooklyn Health Partners, the highest-scoring bidder on the beleaguered LICH site, pledged to surrounding communities to preserve a full-service hospital just days after the State University of New York announced plans to shutter facility on May 23.

To secure the deal, however, BHP plans to erect two 50-story residential towers in place of low-rise buildings on LICH’s current campus.  The proposal also calls for a 40- to 50-story tower to sprout on the corner of Atlantic Avenue and Hicks Street, where a large parking garage currently stands.  According to Crain’s, 20 percent of these units would be affordable.

Along with 2 million square feet of proposed residential development, BHP will use a portion of the $600 million it plans to raise to refurbish the hospital and keep its doors open.

A recent lawsuit led by a coalition of community groups and unions revamped the site’s bidding process, awarding higher points to proposals in which a full-service hospital was included. Though the plan set BHP up with a winning bid, real estate industry leaders recently speculated the development could take more time and money than the project leaders estimate. [Crain’s] – Kerry Barger