By STEVE FREKER
MALDEN — Hallmark Health representatives vowed “to work with the city of Malden” after a Superior Court jury ruled against city demands for repairs and restorations to Malden Hospital Hallmark claims would cost upward of $20 million.
The verdict following a seven-day Middlesex Superior Court trial last week is a milestone in a years-long battle between the city and the health care provider.
Hallmark Health filed suit against the city in 2013 over what it said were invalid safety violation citations involving fire safety sprinkler system, fire alarm and emergency lighting in the now-closed hospital.
Hallmark also alleged the citations were politically-tinged with links to the city’s desire to take over control of the land at the hospital site.
“We’re pleased with the verdict and we’re looking forward to continuing to work with the city of Malden,” said Charles Whipple, Hallmark vice president and chief legal officer said in an online report.
City officials contend the violations still exist and, in a counterclaim against Hallmark, City Solicitor Kathryn Fallon asks for substantial fines of up to $1,000 a day for noncompliance.
The jury’s decision leaves city officials in the position to consider an appeal or work with Hallmark to plan the hospital site’s future use.
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Straddling 17 acres on the Malden-Medford line, the hospital land is one of the city’s prime development sites. The hospital closed in 1999.
Hallmark’s previous proposals for the hospital site’s use led to a 2015 purchase and sale agreement reached by Hallmark with the Fellsmere Housing Group calling for an extensive redevelopment plan, including a mix of single-family homes coupled with 72 condominiums and a 224-apartment complex.
That plan received little support at neighborhood municipally-organized meetings last year. The cost of demolition of the existing building has been estimated at about $3 million and city officials have said in the past that Hallmark’s apparent insistence that proposed buyers foot that bill have hampered marketing and potential sale of the property.
Periodic discussions over the years have focused on the city taking the hospital site through eminent domain.
The Friends of Fellsmere Heights has strongly advocated for a commitment by the city to preserve the site as open space. FoFH has formally presented detailed plans on how the hospital site could benefit the city and the region as open space with trails and passive recreational park space.