STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Built nearly a century ago, the site of the Old Sea View Hospital campus will return to its roots and become what is being touted as the country's first publicly planned and funded mixed-use wellness community.
Dubbed Sea View Healthy Community, the project -- to be fueled with city funding -- will integrate medical care, health-focused retail, community facilities, open space, and housing for diverse populations, such as seniors and people with disabilities.
"Sea View Healthy Community is not just the first health-focused, mixed-use campus in the city, it will be the first publicly planned and supported healthy community in the country," said Maria Torres-Springer, president of the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) at a press conference at the site on Tuesday.
In the last quarter of 2016, the NYCEDC will issue a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) for proposals to make the wellness community reality, she said.
"Today marks a tangible step forward and demonstrable proof that we have moved from what was once merely a vision crafted when I got to Borough Hall in 2014 to a priority project for the de Blasio Administration. This community of care is going to happen, and Staten Island will be a much healthier place because if it," said Staten Island Borough President James Oddo.
"We are close to issuing the RFEI to the marketplace. Let's hear your creativity. Run with your creativity.... Then we will come back around the table to match up what the marketplace is saying to what the initial vision (for the project) is to make sure we get this right," added Oddo.
MASTER PLANNING PROCESS
The Sea View master planning process included market analysis, infrastructure assessment, and examination of how best to incorporate existing landmarked buildings on the site. NYC Health and Hospitals (HHC) and NYCEDC funded a feasibility study for the project, said Oddo.
"We fully support this ambitious plan to address the needs of the growing senior population and special needs children, which will supplement the care and services we deliver at NYC Health + Hospitals/Sea View, our five star nursing facility on the campus," said Dr. Ram Raju, city Health and Hospitals president and CEO.
Conclusions from the analyses were consistent with growing consensus in the public health industry that lifestyle and environmental factors are often a greater cause of chronic disease than a lack of access to medical care.
THE WELLNESS COMMUNITY
With roughly 90 total acres of "buildable land," the Sea View campus will include:
- Medical:
- Retail:
- Residential:
- Community Facilities and Open Space:
HISTORY OF SEA VIEW HOSPITAL
The historic Sea View Hospital opened in 1913 and focused on treating tuberculosis patients with fresh air, rest and a nutritious diet -- the only prescribed treatments at the time.
The hospital was also the site of the first clinical trials for hydrazides treatments, which ultimately led to the cure of the disease. The hospital gradually ceased operations in the late 1950's, after the cure was discovered.
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