New owners of Sagrado Corazón Urban Train station parking lot plan to reopen it
Santurce Ambulatory Surgical Center Holding, a subsidiary of Puerto Rico ASC Holding, plans to reopen the lot used as parking for the Sagrado Corazón Urban Train station as soon as it can lock down the permits, Angie L. Jiménez, administrator of the company that bought the property from the government, confirmed.
The parcel of land known as Parcel B, Santurce Sur Ward — located between Ponce de León and Muñoz Rivera Avenues — was listed for $6.5 million but was sold for $3.3 million in a deal that closed last week. In 2017, the property had an appraisal value of $13.5 million, according to government records.
The lot has been closed to the public since September, as the property was sold through a competitive bidding process overseen by the Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority, or AAFAF by its initials in Spanish.
“We’re currently processing a Use Permit to operate the parking lot, since it was operated under a collaborative agreement between several government agencies, but did not have a permit to use it,” Jiménez said.
“The future plan for this property is to make it a mixed-use development, beginning with the construction of a health service center,” she said.
Puerto Rico ASC Holding, Inc. operates ambulatory ophthalmological surgical centers known as VISTA. The company has a center in Guaynabo and will soon open a second location in Caguas that will generate 40 direct jobs, she confirmed.
“PRASC develops cutting-edge centers with advanced technology to help improve the provision of much-needed health services in our Puerto Rico,” she said. “An ambulatory surgery center is defined as a facility that is independent of a hospital that specializes in performing surgical procedures in which the patient’s stay does not exceed 24 hours. These centers are highly regulated at the state and federal levels.”
Santurce Ambulatory Surgical Center Holding, LLC, was created in October 2018 and has its office in Old San Juan, according to Puerto Rico State Department records. The documents show that several of the people involved in the management of the new firm are familiar faces, namely Cyril L. Meduña, president and managing partner of Advent-Morro Equity Partners and Carlos Nido, film producer and Advent-Morro Equity Partners advisory board member.
The two executives have also coincided at GFR Media, the island’s largest media conglomerate and owners of El Nuevo Día newspaper. While Meduña is married to María Luisa Ferré-Rangel a high-ranking executive at GFR, Nido worked at the firm for 10 years until 2014. That connection has raised flags over potential preferential treatment in the transaction.
” as soon as it can lock down the permits, ”
I’d love to see a timeline of these efforts because allowing a parking lot to be used as a parking lot would take no more than 48 his anywhere else than Puerto Rico! #PuertoRicoDoes ItBetter