NEW ORLEANS -- Despite missing a deadline to buy a shuttered hospital in the East, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said the city is committed to bringing a medical facility to the region.
The city missed a Monday deadline set by the Orleans Parish Hospital Service District to buy the Katrina-shuttered Methodist Hospital in New Orleans East.
"The City of New Orleans remains commmitted to bringing high-quality health care to New Orleans East," Nagin said in a statement released late Monday night. "Our efforts to close on the purchase of the former Methodist Hospital site were delayed when appraisals for the facility came in lower than expected by both parties.
"Under HUD rules, we can not pay above the market price for the property. The Orleans Parish Hospital Service District remains in negotiation with the seller to establish an acceptable price based on the property's appraied value."
Currently, officials with the district are working on a second extension of the purchasing agreement and said they are confident the deal will eventually go through.
Some City and Federal money has been st aside for the deal.
