LG Hospital’s New Owners Have a Costly Incentive to Find Use for Facility – Taxes
The new owners of St. Mark’s Medical Center are looking for someone to buy or lease the shuttered hospital.
Green Jay Capital LLC is the company that acquired the mortgage note on the hospital after it closed almost a year and a half ago. The company began meeting with County and City leaders back in November of last year about the future of the medical center.
La Grange City Manager Jack Thompson gave an update on those discussions this week.
“We’re working with a group to see if they can make it work,” Thompson told the Record on Monday, March 24. “They’re running different numbers, doing their due diligence.”
Thompson said the company is actively marketing the property.
“There is a broker out of Houston who’s helping to try and sell it,” Thompson said. “We’ve had some interest. We’ve got a few more leads we’re trying to explore. It is a priority for us, trying to find somebody. But doing a deal of that magnitude just takes a while. There’s a lot of moving parts to it.”
The U.S. Department of Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which backed the mortgage on St. Mark’s, reported that the note sold for $806,000. The original principal on the loan was $24.2 million, and about $13 million was still owed at the time the hospital closed.
Green Jay Capital now officially owns the property. The deed was recorded at the Fayette County Clerk’s Office on Jan. 3. That means the property is no longer eligible for a non-profit property tax exemption. Somebody will have to pay property taxes on the facility for this year. The Fayette County Appraisal District assessed its 2024 value at $8,354,240, which would result in a tax bill of $117,269 for this year. The tax bill along with maintenance costs should motivate the owners to do something with the property.
“If you don’t have the income to pay the taxes, you’re out a whole lot on that deal,” Thompson said.
The commercial real estate firm CBRE, Inc. has the property listed for sale or lease. The real estate listing for the property states the following: “St. Mark’s Medical Center is a vacant rural emergency hospital located in La Grange, TX on 19.96 acres of land. The Property has a total of 94,635 SF of gross building area, including an 89,914 SF, 2-story hospital building and a 6,325 SF support building. The Property is for Sale or Lease and is the perfect opportunity for reopening as a rural hospital or behavioral health facility.”
The listing does not disclose a sale price or a lease rate.