Farmers buy old St. Mary's campus

Lighted cross given to St. Peter Church

Dawn breaks over the cross on top of the old St. Mary's hospital Wednesday morning on what would be the cross' last day atop its iconic perch. Workers from Bee Seen Signs removed the cross which will be given to St. Peter Catholic Church.
Dawn breaks over the cross on top of the old St. Mary's hospital Wednesday morning on what would be the cross' last day atop its iconic perch. Workers from Bee Seen Signs removed the cross which will be given to St. Peter Catholic Church.

The old St. Mary's Hospital property has a new owner.

Farmer Holding Co. bought the 11.3-acre campus - including the original hospital building, the medical office building, surface parking to the east of Missouri Boulevard and two parking structures, with a total of 804 spaces.

No purchase price was announced, and St. Mary's spokeswoman Janet Wear-Enloe said Wednesday: "Details of the sale are not available."

SSM Health had been marketing the property since construction began on the new St. Mary's Hospital, 2505 Mission Drive, which was opened in November 2014.

Lawmakers in 2014 approved a $6 million appropriation for state government to buy the property, with at least part of the old hospital to be renovated for use by Lincoln University and the Linn-based State Technical College of Missouri.

Gov. Jay Nixon had backed the plan at the beginning of the 2014 legislative session, then vetoed the appropriation after the Legislature also approved a series of small income tax cuts to occur over the next decade.

Farmer Holding Co. confirmed last May it was considering buying the property, and that it was working with St. Mary's and other parties on a redevelopment plan for the old hospital.

Rob Kingsbury, Farmer Holding's spokesman, said Wednesday in a news release announcing the sale that the plan is to do everything they can to renovate and make use of the existing structure.

"We appreciate the interest, support and partnership of the Jefferson City community, elected leaders, and the team at SSM Health," Kingsbury said. "We are grateful for the opportunity to purchase the property and look forward to doing our best to maximize its potential."

But Kingsbury didn't provide any specific plans for using the old hospital campus.

"Our primary focus was to ensure the hospital campus was transferred to a developer that shared our passion and vision to create a first-class redevelopment of the property," said Brent VanConia, president of SSM Health's St. Mary's Hospital-Jefferson City.

"As a result, I am extremely pleased we were able to sell the property to Farmer Holding Company, a locally owned company with a strong quality reputation. The Farmer family is committed to the Jefferson City community and I am confident they will successfully redevelop this site."

Construction began on the original hospital building in 1904, and its first patient was admitted on Oct. 18, 1905. It served 147 patients in the first year.

The cross on top of the old hospital was removed Wednesday and donated to St. Peter Catholic Church.

"Our parish thanks SSM Health St. Mary's for their generous donation of the outdoor lighted cross from the old St. Mary's Hospital," the Rev. Greg Meystrik, pastor of St. Peter, said in the release. "We're in the process of discerning the best place on our parish campus for the cross.

"It's our hope that it will continue to be a landmark in our community and a beacon of faith and hope for generations to come."

Church Business Manager Richard Nagel said St. Peter will store the cross "until we can decide, for sure, where we want to put it. We didn't want to make a quick decision."

He noted Jefferson City's government also has a say in where a lighted sign can be placed.

"We've got a couple of ideas," Nagel said, "but we just want to be sure that we pick the right spot, and this will give us time to check with the people of the church.

"Somebody might have a better idea."