by peter e. bortner
Anyone who wants to own the former Saint Catherine Medical Center Fountain Springs will get his or her chance when it goes on the auction block at 9 a.m. today at the 101 Broad St. property.
"Anybody can show up," William G. Schwab, the Lehighton lawyer who is serving as trustee in bankruptcy for the property's owner, said Monday.
Schwab, who will be conducting the sale with the auctioneer, Houser Associates, Schnecksville, said he has advertised the property in three states, and it has not gone unnoticed.
"There has been some interest" in the property, Schwab said. "It will be offered for sale."
Schwab declined to say if anyone will bid on the property or to reveal the identity of any possible bidders.
Today's auction will mark another step in the labyrinthine process that has lasted more than 1 1/2 years since the hospital's last owner, Saint Catherine Hospital of Pennsylvania LLC, filed for bankruptcy April 9, 2012, in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilkes-Barre.
Saint Catherine Hospital of Pennsylvania asked the court to allow it to reorganize, originally filing the petition as a Chapter 11 reorganization case. However, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John J. Thomas on April 18, 2012, converted the case to a Chapter 7 liquidation.
The state Department of Health has revoked the 107-bed hospital's license and its approximately 150 employees have been left out of work.
Founded as the State Hospital for Injured Persons of the Anthracite Coal Region at Fountain Springs by the state Legislature in 1879, the construction of the original facility began in May 1880 and was completed in 1882.
Thomas has ruled the proceeds from the sale, after certain expenses, taxes and municipal claims, must be held in Schwab's escrow account pending final determination of distribution.
Schwab said any sale will include both the 160,000-square-foot building and the 20 acres on which it sits, Schwab said.
Furthermore, any buyer must be prepared to pay on the spot, he said.
"We will take a certified check ... cash ... or a personal or business check from an approved individual, normally with a letter of credit," Schwab said.
He said there also will be a sale of personal property from the former hospital, and that could attract more people to the auction.
"Traditionally, the day after Thanksgiving has attracted a lot of men whose wives are out shopping," Schwab said.
He said there also has been progress on other fronts of the case, including a resolution of the claim filed by Capital Blue Cross and a pending distribution of $400,000, subject to approval by Thomas, to the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
"Hopefully, we'll have a distribution to the union before Christmas," Schwab said.
He also said that he is negotiating with another individual, whom he did not name, to take over the medical records from the former hospital.
Butler Township supervisors Chairman David Kessler said Monday that he, like a lot of area citizens, is looking past the auction.
"I think we're all just looking at it to see what it will turn into," Kessler said.
Kessler would like to see the new owner convert the property into a source of employment, which is badly needed in the region.
"Naturally, a nursing home probably would be a good fit," he said.
The township also is anxiously awaiting word on how much, if anything, it will receive in back taxes, according to Kessler.
"We've got to stand in line" for those, he said.