A historic and expansive Spanish mission-style building that served as a hospital in Montana until the 1940s is on sale for just $10.
But while it may seem too good to be true, it is.
The three-story, more than 16,000-square-foot old hospital building may be for sale, but the land it stands on is not.
According to the real estate listing, the buyer would have to move the medical facility off-site and relocate it to another location.
To facilitate this unusual transaction, the seller is offering up to $100,000 in moving credits to defer relocation and transition costs.
This is just a fraction of the estimated cost to relocate and restore a 113-year-old building of this size.
The restoration costs alone will cost about $8 million. According to the Missoula Current.
Old Post Hospital was built in Fort Missoula in 1911 and served as a hospital until it was decommissioned in 1947.
Doctors and nurses treated patients suffering from the 1918 Spanish Flu, children who contracted polio during the epidemic, and the hospitals of Japan, Germany, and Italy, which served as the main hospital for “foreigner camps” during World War II. treated immigrants.
After decommissioning, the building was converted into a medical clinic and remained open until 2015.
The hospital’s current owners had proposed a development plan claiming to fund its restoration, but the plan was rejected by the Missoula Historic Preservation Commission, local newspapers reported.
The developer, FAE-Wolf, had applied for a permit to build 16 townhouses on private land adjacent to the hospital building, and planned to use the proceeds from the homes to fund renovations to the hospital.
However, the commission refused permission, citing the development’s sightlines, comments regarding open space, and the belief that the townhouses would detract from the “prominence of the historic building.” Current reported.
FAE-Wolf appealed the decision to the Missoula City Council, arguing that it was rooted in bias, but the city council rejected his appeal by a 7-4 vote, the paper said.
Now, unless an interested buyer comes forward, the property owners say they will apply for a new permit – this time to demolish the hospital.
“It is with great regret that FAE Wolf has been forced to prepare a demolition permit application with the City of Missoula to remove the Old Post Hospital,” the project developer said in a statement, according to a local news publication. .
“Five years later, after spending more than $750,000 to maintain the property, paying taxes and fees, and having the proposal approved, we have no choice but to move forward with the removal or demolition of the hospital. ”
