Old Whitefish hospital will be demolished

The graffiti covered and boarded up shell of the former North Valley Hospital building in Whitefish will soon be coming down.

As early as this summer, the nearly 100,000-square-foot vacant structure will be demolished with the intent of restoring the property to open green space until a long-term vision for the prime real estate is established.

Riverbank Properties, LLC, which is owned by Whitefish venture capitalist Michael Goguen, recently purchased the 11.67-acre property on the corner of U.S. 93 South and East 13th Street. The real estate company has no specific plans for the property now other than improving the site, said Riverbank manager Dominic Cerulli.

“It’s quite the eyesore right now,” Cerulli said. “There is vandalism and graffiti — it’s a risk and liability.”

A leaking roof has caused extensive water damage inside the building, making it all but unsalvageable, Cerulli said.

“The inside would have to be totally gutted,” he said. “It’s no longer useable.”

It also would be a serious chore to find a business that could use the current layout of the hospital campus, he said.

“To find a business that is conducive for the building is a challenge,” he said. “It’s made to be a hospital.”

Starting with a clean slate just makes more sense, he said.

“It’s a beautiful parcel,” said Cerulli, noting its 640 feet of frontage along the Whitefish River with views toward the Swan Range.

During demolition, crews will salvage as much as possible. A previous owner already completed asbestos remediation.

Most of the mature trees on site will be saved, and steps will be taken to make sure the river isn’t impacted, Cerulli said.

“We want to remove it responsibly,” he said.

Work to remove an underground diesel tank will begin this spring. Actual demolition could begin this summer.

Once the building is removed, the site will be graded and stabilized with grass.

“We will return it to green space until a long-term plan is decided,” Cerulli said.

The old hospital site was left vacant when North Valley Hospital moved in 2007 to their current campus.

The property was purchased for $6.4 million that year by the Arizona-based investment and real estate development company The Aspen Group. The firm had plans to build a resort-style residential development on the site. The project was approved by city council in 2009, but the preliminary plat expired after the property went to the bank.

Local investors Don DuBeau and Sam Baldridge bought the property in 2013. They explored the option of redeveloping the site into a four-year college, but those plans never materialized.