Roosy Roads Authority: Hospital up for redevelopment
The government is looking for companies to develop Roosevelt Roads in Ceiba.
Two months after the U.S. Navy officially turned over the former Roosevelt Roads hospital and grounds, the Redevelopment Authority for the property is seeking Requests for Proposals from companies interested in leasing and operating the facility.
The announcement came this week, when Roosevelt Roads Redevelopment Authority Executive Director Malu Blázquez-Arsuaga, and Francisco G. Bonet-Rivera, executive director of the Puerto Rico Medical Tourism Corporation said the goal is to have a world-class medical care facility running on the Ceiba property.
“As soon as we gained control of these medical-hospital facilities, the Authority took on the task of preparing an RFP with the main objective of selecting a bidder that will develop the property into a center of world-class medical care,” Blázquez-Arsuaga said.
The project also seeks to promote the creation of sustainable jobs and stimulate economic growth in the eastern region of Puerto Rico, to benefit mainly the residents of that area, including those in Vieques and Culebra, she said.
The hospital facilities “are located in an ideal place to turn Roosevelt Roads into an attractive center to offer medical tourism services,” said Bonet-Rivera.
“With direct access by sea, land, and air from different points of Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, Central America and the United States [mainland], it provides a strategic advantage for organizations who see its potential as a world-class hospital for different uses, including specializations addressing the elderly or children, research and development, psychiatric services, and others,” he said.
The area of the hospital has 27,942 acres of land and includes the structure of the three-story hospital, comprising 130,000 square feet, a nearby two-story building with 12,422 square feet that was used for administrative services and for patients’ relatives that were hospitalized or undergoing special treatments, an 8,944 square-foot warehouse, and an area that housed water pumps and fire prevention systems.
“The Authority has a preference to enter into a long-term lease contract with the selected bidder. Also, the Authority estimates that the healthcare facility will be operational sometime in 2017,” said Blázquez-Arsuaga.
“We believe the operation of this health services facility will add value and make it more attractive to establish other developments such as hotels, homes, shopping centers, among others,” she added.
Interested bidders have until Nov. 16 to file a sign-up form, and until Jan. 8 to file the proposals. For more information about the RFP, access: www.rooseveltroads.pr.gov.
