Press Releases
June 30, 2011
St. Barnabas Hospital Holds Groundbreaking Ceremony for New Parking Garage
Bronx, NY, June 29 – Plans for a much-needed parking garage at St. Barnabas Hospital have been on the drawing board for 30 years. Today, those dreams were fulfilled when hospital administrators and board members, local and state officials, and community representatives officially broke ground on construction of what will be a six-story, 605-space parking garage on the campus of the 145-year-old hospital.
“The last thing patients and their visitors need when they come to the hospital is to be frustrated over where they are going to park,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., in his remarks at the groundbreaking ceremony. “That only adds to the stress.”
According to Dr. Scott Cooper, President and Chief Executive Officer of St. Barnabas Hospital, the funding and approval for the hospital was brought about by “the confluence of federal, state, and local government,” and will become a resource for hospital physicians, staff, patients, their visitors, and the community.
The construction project will cost $23.3 million, with $19.8 million financed in triple tax-exempt bonds by The New York City Capital Resource Corp., a subsidiary of the city’s Economic Development Corporation, authorized under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The bonds were secured by Arthur Management Corporation, the for-profit affiliate of the hospital whose parent company is St. Barnabas Community Enterprises.
Construction of the garage will result in jobs for 173 union members over 12 months. It is expected to be completed in 12 months.
Also participating in the ceremonies were State Senators Gus Rivera and Jeff Klein; Seth Pinsky, President of the New York City Economic Development Corporation; and Albert Alvarez, chief of staff for Councilman Joel Rivera, who was instrumental in the approval of the new parking garage but was unable to attend because of his involvement in ongoing city budget meetings.
Founded in 1866, St. Barnabas Hospital has 461 licensed beds and annually has 25,000 admissions and attends to 100,000 visits in its emergency department, 500,000 in its network ambulatory clinics, and 160,000 in its mental health programs.
Steven Clark/Howard Matzner
Andover Communications
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