Fortis strikes $240M deal with SUNY for Cobble Hill hospital

Fortis Property Group struck an agreement in principle with SUNY to buy Long Island College Hospital in Cobble Hill for $240 million plus other costs. The deal paves the way for Fortis to build luxury condominiums on the property.

Under the arrangement, Fortis will partner with NYU Langone Medical Center and Lutheran Medical Center to provide outpatient services and a 20-bed emergency department, Capital New York reported.

Fortis will also fund emergency care during the transition and set aside $5 million for a foundation focused on the community’s healthcare needs.

SUNY dropped a similar plan in December after hospital officials said a mix of condominiums and healthcare services would not benefit the hospital. Mayor Bill de Blasio also opposed the plan at the time, saying he was “troubled” by the conversion of hospital properties to luxury condos. The mayor later dropped his insistence on keeping a full-service hospital on the site.

As part of a new LICH bidding process, Fortis submitted a plan in February that would reserve 25 percent of new residential space for affordable housing. SUNY resumed talks with Fortis in May after deals with the top two bidders, Brooklyn Health Partners and the Peebles Corporation, fell through. [CapitalNY] — Tom DiChristopher