More Local

• ABQTrib.com to remain available
• Former Marine to serve two years in jail for killing Albuquerque robber
• Wilson-Pearce battle for U.S. Senate exemplifies party's disparity

MOST RECENT TRIB STORIES

• ABQTrib.com to remain available
  08:48 a.m., February 25, 2008
• Congressman is indicted
  08:37 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Series of attacks target Green Zone
  08:36 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Iran is defying U.N., agency says
  08:35 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Waterboarding approval probed
  08:34 a.m., February 23, 2008

TRIB IN THE BLOGOSPHERE*

• Ty Murray Invitational thrills fans in Albuquerque
• Is Rome Burning?
• Ominous Skies
• The Road to Invalidation
• Albuquerque company participates in “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”

*Note: The Tribune does not create and is not responsible for the blogosphere's headlines and stories. These links to blogs talking about ABQTrib.com are automatically generated. Use them at your own risk.

STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• Comments
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

SHARE THIS STORY [?]

The new owners of the former Lovelace Hospital on Gibson Boulevard Southeast will make a pitch to Bernalillo County commissioners next week.

Their goal: applying for a $20 million industrial revenue bond from the county.

It's a deal meant to give the new owners access to redevelopment money and tax abatements in exchange for facilitating a rebirth of the 550,000-square-foot hospital complex into a use that will create more jobs, said Commissioner Deanna Archuleta.

"The benefits for IRBs is the community receives jobs, and essentially off of those jobs people are spending money in the community," Archuleta said.

Lovelace Health Systems moved its hospital operation out of the 55-year-old building in June. In November it announced a sale of the building for an undisclosed amount to Gibson Medical LLC, owned by local businessmen Jim Daskalos and Nick Kapnison.

Daskalos on Friday said his company intends to transform the Gibson building from a one-tenant hospital facility to a medical mall with multiple tenants.

Those tenants are expected to provide various medical services, such as doctors' offices, skilled nursing services and behavioral health professionals. An existing urgent care facility will remain.

The building will be anchored by ABQ Health Partners, a group of Lovelace physicians who spun off into their own company in November. The physicians group, which already occupies about 100,000 square feet inside the building, was finalizing an agreement Friday to expand and occupy around 200,000 square feet, Daskalos said.

The IRB money would be used to redesign the building to facilitate multiple tenants, a process that includes segregating utilities, Daskalos said. He estimated the work to cost $10 million to $20 million, with many of the changes expected to take place in the first six months of the year.

"We want to redevelop the site there and make it a viable economic place again," Daskalos said. "We're looking to make the facility a good part of the community. It's always been a major part of southeast Albuquerque."

Under an IRB, the company will float a bond on the open market using its own banker.

"The benefit is, since you roll it through a government agency, it allows you to abate the taxes over the life of the bond, 30 years," said Daniel Gutierrez, the county's economic development coordinator.

The Gibson building would not be subject to county property taxes. Other taxes, such as school taxes, would still apply, Gutierrez said.

At its meeting Tuesday, the commission wouldn't be approving the IRB. It would merely open the door for Gibson Medical to submit an application and authorize the county's staff and bond counsel to begin negotiating terms, Archuleta said.

"Once they've received approval to apply, the negotiations happen," Archuleta said. "That allows the community time to look over the IRB and have input."

Archuleta believes offering such an incentive could be crucial in revitalizing an area like southeast Albuquerque, which, with the vacancy of Lovelace's hospital operations, finds itself in need of economic growth.

"The surrounding community becomes at risk for lack of use. There's just nobody there to make use of the businesses," Archuleta said. "This is a way to revitalize this neighborhood, to make sure there is a secure, functioning building that can bring in new and financially stable jobs."