By STEVE FREKER
MALDEN — A jury trial in a civil suit brought by the owners of the former Malden Hospital site against the city of Malden is scheduled to begin Wednesday morning in Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn.
Hallmark Health brought the suit against the city and a former municipal building inspector in 2014, saying the city cited the owners unfairly for alleged safety violations at the site. Hallmark alleges the city’s action were politically motivated and impeded the hospital site’s sale and redevelopment.
Contention between Hallmark and the city have continued out of court with the Planning Board last week unanimously rejecting the latest redevelopment proposal for the site, a plan to construct eight single-family residences there.
Straddling 17 acres on the Malden-Medford line, the hospital land is one the city’s prime development sites. The hospital closed in 1999.
The city in 2013 cited violations including a non-functioning sprinkler system; insufficient emergency exit lighting; severe water damage; and unauthorized changes to the fire alarm system.
City officials contend those 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. Attorneys for Hallmark stand by its initial claim that the violations citations are invalid and the city’s request for damages are unfair.
https://newitemlive.wpengine.com/news/saugus-keeps-open-mind-about-open-space/
Superior Court Judge Bruce Henry last month encouraged the city and Hallmark to reach a settlement agreement before the start of the trial. Court proceedings could include a jurors visit to the hospital to get a look at its condition.
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. Obstacles plague the site’s development. 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.