The future site of the Lancaster County morgue and forensic center will be in East Hempfield Township, the Commissioners announced at their August 5 public meeting. The land will be leased to County by Lancaster General Hospital, and is adjacent to the LGH health campus, near Route 30’s Rohrstown exit.
Although it is not yet definite whether the hospital will be paying property taxes on the leased-out land, LGH spokesman John Lines indicated that this would not be an unlikely scenario:
“The only facilities that we don’t pay property taxes on are our Women and Babies hospital as well as the large hospital on Duke Street. All of our other outpatient facilities in the County, we do pay property taxes, even though they advance charitable purposes….For the medical office buildings at the Health Campus, which we lease out, we pay property taxes….”
According to a County press release (provided below), the next steps will include “finalizing the lease agreement and selecting an architect to design the building. Construction is not expected to begin for at least one year.”
Lancaster County Commissioners Announce Location for New Forensic Center and Lab
State-of-the-Art Facility Will Be Centrally Located Within County
LANCASTER COUNTY (August 5, 2009) – Lancaster County Commissioners Dennis P. Stuckey, Scott Martin, and Craig Lehman announced today the location for the county’s new forensic center and lab, which will be built on two acres at Spring Valley Road near Route 30 in Lancaster. Lancaster General Health will lease the land, which is located on the Lancaster General Health Campus, to the county.
“We are pleased to have identified an affordable, central location for this state-of-the-art facility, which will have greater lab capabilities and better access from across the county,” said Dennis P. Stuckey, Chairman of the Lancaster County Board of Commissioners. “We appreciate Lancaster General Health’s partnership in this important step for the community and look forward to moving ahead with the project.”
The new forensic center and lab will replace the county morgue, which is located at Conestoga View, a long-term care facility on East King Street in Lancaster.
“We’re glad to be able to assist the county in providing part of our health campus for this important move,” said Thomas E. Beeman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Lancaster General Health. “The county’s mission to enhance the wellbeing of the Lancaster community is also Lancaster General Health’s mission.”
The commissioners announced that next steps would include finalizing the lease agreement and selecting an architect to design the building. Construction is not expected to begin for at least one year.
“We have the opportunity to build a significantly improved and fully equipped county forensic facility,” said Stuckey. “Finding an affordable location in the heart of the county is an exciting first step.”
