The former hospital has been vacant since Hahnemann closed in 2019. Its new use comes as Mayor Parker's administration has prioritized getting the homeless population off the streets and into shelter.
The former hospital has been vacant since Hahnemann closed in 2019. Its new use comes as Mayor Parker's administration has prioritized getting the homeless population off the streets and into shelter.
This entrance to the Feinstein Building at Hahnemann University Hospital is pictured in September 2019. The city is leasing the building, which has been sitting vacant for years, and will use it as a homeless shelter.Mayor Cherelle L.
, just two years after it was acquired by private equity firm Paladin Healthcare Capital. Separately, development firm Iron Stone Real Estate Partners bought the Feinstein BuildingIron Stone initially sought to market the space in the Feinstein Building for medical or “social service” offices, but last year, it was rezoned for “group living,” city records show. In December, City Council passed legislation approving the city enter a 15-year lease at a base rent of about $940,000 annually.
Officials with the city’s Office of Homeless Services have long argued that there are enough beds at more than three dozen shelters to serve Philadelphia’s homeless population. Accordingthere were 3,667 emergency shelter beds and hundreds more beds in other forms of temporary housing. At the same time, there were about 3,700 people in some form of temporary shelter that year, and the number of unsheltered people was about 800.
“We are looking at all types of options to make sure — as you’ve heard the mayor say over and over — that we take care of people across the city,” he said. “This gives us another option.”