Upper Darby School District is considering buying the now-closed Delaware County Memorial Hospital building for $2 million, according to a court filing in the Prospect Medical Holdings bankruptcy.
The hospital building, closed since November 2022, is next to Upper Darby High School on Lansdowne Avenue and could allow the district to expand its facilities, writes Harold Brubaker for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
“We’re always looking for opportunities. We need space,” Superintendent Dan McGarry said Thursday. “This is one of those options we’re looking to explore, but there is no deal in place.”
The shuttered Drexel Hill hospital is owned by Prospect, which has filed for bankruptcy protection.
Prospect owes taxes to the district and Upper Darby Township for the hospital but has been fighting in court over the value of the property.
Public records show that its assessment for real estate tax purposes was $108.3 million as of 2019.
But in a July 2023 real estate transaction involving the hospital, Delaware County Memorial Hospital was valued at $17.4 million.
Upper Darby is one of the region’s largest school districts in a densely populated area, so finding land for expansion is difficult.
Find out more about a possible sale of Delaware County Memorial Hospital to the Upper Darby School District in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
