Upper Darby School District Finalizes Delaware County Hospital Purchase

The Upper Darby School District has purchased the shuttered Delaware County Memorial Hospital campus for $600,000 from bankrupt Prospect Medical Holdings, which closed the hospital in November 2022. The district plans to demolish the 66,000-square-foot hospital and two other buildings on the site in the short term, aiming to repurpose the property to alleviate overcrowding at Upper Darby High School and potentially develop a STEAM-focused extension for advanced learning opportunities. This multi-year project is intended to address both current and future space needs, with initial efforts to stabilize the site to support elementary school renovations. Prospect Medical Holdings filed for bankruptcy in January 2025 and sought court approval to abandon the hospital property, which had accumulated nearly $20 million in delinquent taxes. The acquisition was finalized just before a deadline that would have allowed Prospect to abandon the property, and as part of the deal, much of the owed property tax will be converted into unsecured debt. The closure of the hospital has sparked strong community reactions, including a letter from a retired nurse urging the bankruptcy judge to hold the company accountable for the loss and damage to the local healthcare system.