Update: Friday, August 2, 10:00 a.m:
Lifepoint Health has issued a response to Veridea Group announcing they will be terminating the purchase agreement for the former UP Health System-Marquette hospital.
In the statement, Victor E. Giovanetti, FACHE Executive Vice President, Hospital Operations LifePoint Health said:
"First and foremost, we remain committed to the Marquette community. We are focused on identifying the right long-term plan for the former UPHS-Marquette facility and surrounding property. It may take some time to reach the right solution, but we will continue to be very thoughtful in our approach to this significant project and its impact on the community."
Also in the statement, UP Health System Marquette and Lifepoint Health say they appreciate the community’s patience throughout this process and are committed to providing updates along the way.
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A local development agency has announced their decision to no longer purchase the former UP Health System-Marquette hospital.
The statement from Veridea Group President, Robert Mahaney, said:
"In November of last year Veridea Group entered into a purchase and sale agreement with a subsidiary of LifePoint Health whereby Veridea Group would acquire the 21-acre former Marquette General Hospital (MGH) campus subject to satisfactory due diligence results and a number of other conditions.
"Since that time both parties have worked diligently to complete the steps needed to transfer ownership of the property. A number of significant issues were discovered during due diligence that impacted Veridea’s ability to execute its redevelopment plan. Despite the best efforts of both parties over many months to resolve these matters, at this point in time we remain without a mutually acceptable solution.
"As a result, Veridea Group has notified LifePoint of its decision to terminate the purchase and sale agreement. We do this with great regret as we believe the redevelopment of the now vacant campus is critical to the City of Marquette, its residents and especially the surrounding neighborhood. We will continue to engage with LifePoint and support their efforts to bring about successful redevelopment of this property.
"While we are disappointed in being unable to move forward with the MGH campus, we remain fully committed to Marquette and the Upper Peninsula. In fact, we have a number of exciting new development projects in our pipeline for Marquette and across the peninsula that will deliver new investment, jobs and community amenities upon completion. These include the new mixed-use building planned for downtown Marquette, the second building in our Harbor Vista Residences, and potential development of the former Cliffs Dow property."
TV6 & FOX UP has reached out to UP Health System for comment on this, but have not heard back at the time of posting.
