Barlow Respiratory Hospital has a storied past. One of Los Angeles' oldest hospitals, with a charitable legacy of serving low-income patients, the 103-year-old facility on the western edge of Dodger Stadium also is designated by the city as a historic landmark.
But the nonprofit hospital's future is uncertain. Its board of directors has decided to sell its pastoral campus to survive. The possible sale sets the stage for battles among developers wanting to build condominiums, preservationists hoping to save the landmark structures, activists desiring more low-income housing and park advocates seeking more open space.
The winners and losers could very well be determined by the Los Angeles City Council in a key test of its ability to choose among conflicting urban development strategies.
Barlow's plight also serves as an example of the burdens faced by many healthcare providers across California as they struggle to meet strict new earthquake safety standards.
Barlow can't make its main infirmary, built in 1927, comply with the tougher earthquake safety laws going into effect for many California hospitals in 2013, Chief Executive Margaret Crane said. Structural upgrades would be too costly for a building that is already obsolete by modern medical standards.
"The rooms are tiny, the nursing stations are tiny and there is no room for equipment," Crane said. "It's not something we would want to retrofit."
Barlow administrators are collecting bids for the 25-acre site, hoping to raise enough money to build a new facility on a sliver of their rambling Stadium Way location or elsewhere in the region. A new hospital would cost as much as $60 million.
The property has about 40 buildings dating as far back as 1903, some of them crumbling and unused. The buildings were mostly built through the first half of the 20th century to provide a haven for tuberculosis patients who couldn't afford the lengthy treatments common at the time. The structures are several different styles of architecture, including Craftsman wood frame and Spanish Revival masonry construction.
Barlow's decision to sell sets up a humdinger of a land-use conflict. Most interest in the property is from residential developers, who typically want to build as many units as possible to maximize their profits.
