Former Delaware County Memorial Hospital, set for demolition, prepares for next chapter as educational center

The former Delaware County Memorial Hospital, which has sat vacant since closing in November 2022, could soon have a new purpose.

The Upper Darby School District plans to demolish the former hospital and build a career and technical education center in its place. The new facility would serve as an extension of nearby Upper Darby High School, creating additional classroom space while giving students hands-on training for careers in the skilled trades, health care, STEM and other high demand fields.

Renderings show a new facility with enough classrooms to serve about 1,000 students. Superintendent Daniel McGarry said the center would allow students to gain practical skills that aren't possible in a traditional classroom, including welding, plumbing and HVAC.

"It's going to be a beautiful space for our kids one day," McGarry said. "And the beauty of it is that's going to provide jobs right out of high school for students who want to take that career path."

Cleanup crews are already clearing out the building ahead of the planned demolition, which district officials hope will begin sometime this fall.

Before settling on the plan, the district spent months gathering input from stakeholders, including architects, engineers, community members and Upper Darby High School students, who shared their ideas for the site's future.

Upper Darby School District purchased the former hospital from Prospect Medical Holdings through bankruptcy court last year for $600,000. McGarry said officials initially explored renovating the building, but concluded it wasn't practical.

"Unfortunately, ceiling heights and corridors and egress just wouldn't work for the number of students we would like to get into that property," McGarry said. "It was built for a hospital. It wasn't built for a school."

Many families said they support the district's vision for the site.

"Personally, for me, I think it's a great idea," Kevin Kramer, from Upper Darby said. "It's been an eyesore for the last few years.  So having something finally done to it is definitely going to revitalize that specific area."

Kramer believes the new center will create more opportunities for students. His 15-year-old son, Brandon Kramer, is a rising sophomore at Upper Darby High School.

Brandon remembers how his older sister, Emma Kramer, had to travel to the Delaware County Intermediate Unit in Aston to take exercise science classes. He hopes future students will have similar opportunities closer to home.

"I think it's a good idea to get something closer for Upper Darby students that don't have to travel 40 minutes, 30 minutes away to go to school and learn what they want to do," Brandon said.

The hospital's closure remains bittersweet for some in the community.

Kayla Butts-Jones, who was once a patient at Delaware County Memorial Hospital, said she wishes it could have remained a hospital. Still, she believes transforming the property into an educational facility is a better outcome than allowing it to remain vacant.

"It's unfortunate that a hospital has to go, but in its place something positive is coming out of it," Butts-Jones said.

District officials estimate construction of the new career and technical education center will take four to five years after demolition begins.