Partnership Formed to Redevelop Former Hospital

Four months after Saint Vincent Hospital moved to a new $215 million medical facility Downtown, it has teamed with a Boston company to redevelop the 500,000-sf property it left behind. Liberty Properties and the hospital have formed the Vernon Hill Development Co. to spearhead the renovation. Liberty principal Mohsin Amiji says the partnership is still finalizing plans, but adds that the project will include a significant residential component, an assisted-living facility as well as medical, research and office uses. He places renovation costs in the $15 million to $20 million range.

“We’re all very excited,” says Amiji, adding that Vernon Hill will market and manage the space. Located in Central Massachusetts, Worcester has benefited of late by skyrocketing rents in Greater Boston, with an increasing migration of companies seeking relief from record office and industrial rates. The residential portion, which will yield an estimated 150 market-rate units, should be attractive to people driven west by some of the nation’s highest housing costs, Amiji predicts.