Scott BresslerFollowing months of debate, Barnes-Jewish gained approval from the city to lease 9.4 acres of Forest Park land on Friday.
The deal was made with provisions that Barnes-Jewish will pay about $2 million a year for the land, which is called Hudlin Park.
This $2 million will be matched by Forest Park Forever, a private park booster group, which has agreed to add $1.8 million. This addition would bring in about $4 million for the protection of Forest Park.
June Fowler, the vice-president of corporate and public communications for the hospital, is pleased with the approval.
“It has been a long process, one that has had a lot of opportunity for public engagement,” she said.
Fowler said the decision is also positive because it gives the hospital the opportunity to start planning for the future, something that is especially important because the greatest needs for beds and other expansion will be in 2020 in response to aging Baby Boomers. In addition, Fowler said that the expansion will benefit patients who do not live in central St. Louis where the hospital is located and will make it easier for them to receive services.
“We have been very successful at having folks from the west, north, and south to commute to the hospital, but as the population ages, we need to expand. Then, patients do not have to commute,” she said.
When building begins, Fowler anticipates another patient tower, diagnostic and treatment rooms, among other buildings. Actual building, though, will not start for another seven to eight years.
This fact is disturbing to William Landau, a professor of neurology in the Washington University School of Medicine, who believes that Barnes-Jewish stole parkland before a charter amendment could be elected on April 3 that would give voters the right to vote on any change in the status of public parks in St. Louis. Thus, decisions of this nature would be subject to the direct vote of citizens in St. Louis.
“Citizens have the primary authority to decide about the status of parkland,” said Landau.
Landau said that the signing of the lease deal was rushed so that it could be signed into law before April 3, and he said that the hospital could have waited, especially because they have no immediate plans to build.
“[It was] sneaky and dishonest to press the issue before April 3. It was immoral,” he said.
Comptroller Darlene Green was partially responsible for the approval of the lease, which she initially opposed. Last week at a meeting for the Board of Aldermen, she decided to give her support while also proposing a creation of two advisory panels that will be responsible for making recommendations on the future of leased land and of Forest Park in general. She also asked a pair of aldermen to create an ordinance to help protect greenspace in the city.
Landau supports the idea of the advisory panels and he hopes that these amendments are passed.
“There should be an advisory panel, but I can’t vote because I don’t live in the city,” he said.
But he still believes the city made a mistake in approving the lease.
“Sacrificing parkland is an irreversible crime. Barnes-Jewish has much space, including antique buildings, that could be replaced without imposing on parkland. Look at the empty place on Euclid or where the [old] nursing school needs to be torn down. [There are] other buildings that are 80 or 90-years-old that could be replaced. It is cheaper to steal land from the park than to make a better architectural plan,” he said.
Fowler, though, still believes the approval to be a success.
“We have had a number of meetings with Citizens to Protect Forest Park [a group opposing the lease]. Even though we disagreed, we certainly respect their principles and commitment. We disagree on the best way to protect Forest Park. [Barnes-Jewish] feels that this is an excellent way to protect Forest Park by providing a source of long-term funds for maintenance,” she said.