Massachusetts have given the current owner of the shuttered Norwood Hospital until Nov. 1 to sell the property, or the state will take it by eminent domain.
Gov.
Maura Healey on Friday signed into law a bill that enables the state to take the property and partially rebuilt facility.
The law exerts pressure on Medical Properties Trust, an Alabama-based real estate investment trust that owns the property, to make a deal before the state steps in and takes the land.
Lawmakers passed the bill on the last day of scheduled formal sessions last Friday and shipped it to Healey's desk.
The governor on Friday blamed Norwood Hospital's former operator, Steward Health Care and former CEO Ralph de la Torre, for delays that impacted the town and residents.
"Now, we need MPT to do the right thing and come to a reasonable agreement with a qualified operator who can rebuild the hospital.
Our administration will be closely following their progress and will be prepared to act if MPT does not follow through," she said.
Healey's signature brings the Steward bankruptcy saga nearly to a close in Massachusetts.
Norwood Hospital shuttered in 2020 due to catastrophic flooding, and construction to rebuild the site came to a halt when Steward went bankrupt.
MPT, Steward's landlord, continues to own the property and says it has invested more than $350 million into rebuilding the hospital.
On the House floor late last Friday, Rep.
John Rogers of Norwood told MPT, "Get out of Massachusetts."
The law directs the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance to conduct a competitive bidding process for a nonprofit healthcare operator.
DCAMM is instructed to delay that process or any land taking if a sale, lease or agreement between MPT and a healthcare operator "appears likely to result in near-term execution."
The law takes effect Nov.
1.