Long-Delayed Bristol Healthcare Facility Cleared To Open

A healthcare facility is one step closer to opening its doors after 10 years of labor and a 14-year development saga that left many wondering if the project would ever be completed.

Borough officials confirmed this week that the Mill Run healthcare facility on Wilson Avenue has passed its final inspections and is cleared to open.

An opening date for the senior facility remains unclear, but it is slated to house elder-care services and medical offices once operational.

The 77,000-square-foot building has undergone a massive overhaul since 2016. It is being developed by Philadelphia-based 1201 Wilson Acquisition, a firm associated with Healthcare Stat Homecare.

Over the past decade, crews gutted the aging structure, installed new windows, reinforced the steel framing, and completed asbestos removal.

Councilmember Greg Pezza said at Monday’s council meeting that the prolonged timeline tried the patience of borough officials, but he pointed to the transformation of what was once an eyesore.

“If you remember what Mill Run looks like 11, 12, 13 years ago compared to what it looks like now, it’s a major property in Bristol Borough that was virtually abandoned and run down and now it’s ready to open its doors pretty soon,” Pezza said, adding that while the speed of the work was “a point of frustration for all of us up here,” the outcome is a major upgrade.

According to Council President Ralph DiGiuseppe, the interior of the building has been completely transformed. He added that it features marble finishes, a dialysis center, a hair salon, waterfalls, and flat-screen televisions throughout.

DiGiuseppe compared entering the facility to “walking into a five-star hotel” and praised the developer’s persistence despite financial and logistical challenges.

“Let me tell you, he put millions, he invested millions of dollars in his project,” DiGiuseppe said. “You got to give him credit. He could have walked away anytime he wanted and just filed bankrupt or whatever. And he just kept putting money and money and money into this place.”

The developer plans to host an open house for the community in the future.

“It’s going to blow you away, I can tell you that,” DiGiuseppe said.

The property was once the site of Harriman Hospital. It later operated as Bristol General Hospital and then Delaware Valley Hospital. The hospital, which had a five-story addition built in the late 1960s, eventually relocated to Oxford Valley Road in Falls Township in 1981.

The site later operated as the Mill Run assisted living center until financial difficulties forced its closure in January 2008.

Bristol Borough and the Redevelopment Authority of Bucks County stepped in to acquire the blighted site in the early 2010s.

In 2015, authorities reached an agreement to sell the property to 1201 Wilson Acquisition, but the official transfer of ownership was not finalized until 2020.

To help jumpstart the revitalization, the borough council, school board, and county government approved Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance (LERTA) for the property in 2015. The agreement limits the real estate taxes paid on the building through 2030.

DiGiuseppe noted the ownership has been paying all owed taxes during the renovation.

In recent years, representatives for Mill Run forecasted opening dates in 2018, 2019, and 2023.