USE OF OLD HOSPITAL HINGES ON MONEY

The two consultants seemed to be giving the notion that the old hospital building can be saved a little CPR at the meeting. They said the building was worth saving, even though it would cost millions of dollars to rehabilitate the long-vacant structure. If the building were razed, one of the consultants said, the neighborhood around the old hospitals would "continue to deteriorate."

Maybe that has been the case in St. Louis neighborhoods, where large-scale urban renewal has, over the years, leveled entire blocks, leaving a moonscape of urban neglect and decay. But most folks who have paid any attention to the area around the old hospital have pretty much echoed the same sentiment: get rid of the building before it's too late to save the rest of the neighborhood.

The Big Question, of course, is money. Who would invest millions of dollars to rehabilitate the old hospital? Or, who would pay to tear it down if the city condemns it? Those who favor immediate razing seem to think the city has a pot of money to spend on such a costly project.

Then there is the question of what the consultants said to the Family Resource Center board and what those same consultants said to business and property owners in that part of town. Some of those owners recall another meeting with the same consultants and being told that the old hospital was beyond hope, mainly because of the large amount of money that would have to be invested -- money that likely could never be recouped by any business enterprise such as apartments for senior citizens.

Surely this isn't a case of consultants simply saying what they think the audience wants to hear. And surely this isn't a case of consultants changing their minds depending on whose money is at stake: private investors or taxpayers.

It's time to move on to the real issues, such as how necessary a resource center is for South Cape, and how much the ongoing operating costs of such a center would be and where those funds would come from, and whether or not agencies wanting to target their services in South Cape already have the means to do that without adding any buildings or personnel or cost.