The Long Beach City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved the land transfer of its Community Hospital property, paving the way for new ownership for the first time in nearly a century. The action on Tuesday was the culmination of a risky lease agreement inked by city leaders in a failed attempt to save East Long Beach’s only emergency room from closing due to seismic structural issues. The repairs were ultimately determined to be too costly and the hospital was closed for good last year. Under terms of the deal, the city will “sell” the 8.7-acre property for $0 to operator MWN Community Hospital LLC to cover the company’s operating losses. MWN reported roughly $26.65 million in losses during its roughly four-year effort to save the hospital. The hospital was open for 11 months but shuttered in December due to the mounting seismic construction costs and lack of demand for services. The city and leaseholder agreed to a fair market sale price of $17.71 million, according to a staff report. For the full story click the link in our bio, where you can also sign up for our newsletters and become a member to support local journalism #longbeach #community #hospital