In the wake of voters' rejection of a local bond measure, Tulare Regional Medical Center has applied for a state loan.
Tulare Regional Medical Center has applied for a $55 million state loan to finish construction of a stalled hospital tower project.
Tulare officials have filed a preliminary application for a loan with the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD). The facility's main hospital building must be replaced by 2030 to meet state seismic safety standards.
OSHPD does not have a set timeline for reviewing loan applications but an official said the process could take up to six months.
"The timing on closing a loan from application to funding ranges anywhere from 90 days to six months, depending on the complexity of the transaction and how far along the applicant is with construction planning, permitting, and entitlements," said OSHPD Legislative and Public Affairs Information Officer David Byrnes.
"We're still collecting and assessing all of the information from Tulare and cannot commit to a timeframe at this point."
Tulare Regional applied for the loan just weeks after voters in the Tulare Local Health Care District voted down a $55 million bond measure to resume construction on the tower. Measure I, which would have created a new parcel tax to generate funding, was voted down by a 67% to 33% margin.
When complete, the four-story, 120,000-square-foot tower will feature a 24-bed emergency department, five surgical suites, and 27 private patient rooms.
The original project was funded by an $85 million bond measure approved by 83% of voters in 2005, but funding for the project ran out in 2015 and major construction stalled. Since then, healthcare district officials have come under fire for allegedly mishandling bond measure funds.
A 2016 report from the Tulare County Grand Jury titled "Tower of Shame" alleges healthcare district officials mismanaged the project and oversaw an estimated 700 change orders that generated $17.1 million in additional costs.
The report also alleges that healthcare district officials knew the original cost for the tower project would be as high as $120 million but made no effort to seek more funding after the $85 million bond measure was approved.
In response, the healthcare district board of directors said the report was "long on conclusions and short on facts," and unfairly blamed current board members for mistakes made by past boards.
The board also said that four independent examinations of bond measure spending were conducted and found no wrongdoing.