June 17, 2024
Third “Reimagine St. Luke’s” Reuse Community Meeting Set for June 26th
Oneida County Executive Anthony J. Picente Jr. announced today that the third community meeting for the redevelopment Master Plan of the former St. Luke’s Hospital Campus will take place on June 26th at MVHS Center for Rehabilitation & Continuing Care Services in Utica.
“Public participation in these forums has been great,” Picente said. “We continue to receive extensive input and valuable feedback, and we want to see that momentum carry through to June 26thth. Having the public engage in this process is imperative to the future success of the site.”
The Community Visioning Workshop will take place from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on June 26th in the Soggs Room of the MVHS Center for Rehabilitation & Continuing Care Services located at 1650 Champlin Avenue (on the former St. Luke’s Campus). It is hosted by Oneida County, Mohawk Valley EDGE, Mohawk Valley Health System (MVHS) and the Town of New Hartford.
It is the third public meeting associated with the “Reimagine St. Luke’s - Planning for the Future” project. Fu Wilmers Design, the firm selected to lead the Master Plan effort, will be present to engage with the public. This meeting will present the opportunity to review project research and site analyses conducted to date, and to help shape conceptual site plan ideas that are emerging from this research and from ongoing public input.
A summary of the extensive responses received through the online Reimagine St. Luke’s Visual Preferences Survey, which is helping to inform design ideas, will also be shared. That survey can be taken online here: www.surveymonkey.com/r/StLukesVisualSurvey.
The project partners began conducting a series of public engagement events in February to introduce the planning project, identify challenges, craft a community vision, generate site alternatives and help shape the overall campus reuse strategy. The public meetings will conclude in September 2024.
An Advisory Group made up of community leaders and representatives from the surrounding neighborhoods, community service organizations, faith-based groups, small business owners, housing organizations and real-estate developers meet prior to public meetings to contribute to the project by providing input on the challenges and potential for the site as the re-use strategy is developed.
There are four Advisory Group and four Community Visioning Workshops planned. Three different concepts will be produced as a final result of the Master Plan study.
A Facilities Study for the former hospital site, also commissioned by Oneida County, MV EDGE, MVHS and the Town of New Hartford, is being headed by Weston & Sampson. It kicked off in November 2023 and is running concurrently with the Master Plan study. It will help inform the Master Plan by looking at the present physical conditions and determining what portions of St. Luke’s can potentially be reused or are not suitable for reuse.
MV EDGE is administering the contracts with the consultants on both projects and Oneida County is providing the funding.
More information about “Reimagine St. Luke’s – Planning for the Future” can be found on the project website at: www.reimaginestlukes.com.
