Los Angeles Times owner has emerged as the leading bidder for the vacant St. Vincent Medical Center campus in Westlake, the newspaper reported yesterday.
Soon-Shiong, who amassed a fortune as the founder of numerous biotechnology companies, has offered to purchase the 10.49-acre medical center for $135 million through the Chan Soon-Shiong Family foundation that he runs with his wife, Michele B. Chan. The property is slated to be used as a campus focused on COVID-19 patients and coronavirus research, according to the Times.
Long-term plans for the site have not been set at this point in time, though the report indicates that it could be used to tackle the region's homelessness crisis, and may not operate as an acute care hospital.
The facility's current owner, Verity Health System, has temporarily leased the campus to the State of California, which has activated the hospital for response to the coronavirus outbreak.
St. Vincent Medical Center shuttered, which dates to the mid-19th century, shuttered in January due to the bankruptcy of Verity Health System.
Integrity Healthcare, a subsidiary of NantWorks, is one of Verity's creditors.
Both the City and County of Los Angeles have previously considered buying the campus, first to serve as an outpatient medical care facility, and later as homeless housing.
