This House is an ONION! It needs to be demolished this area is no longer residential and we have enough beautifully restored craftsman homes already. It sticks out like a sore thumb. Get rid of it and let Scripps expand!

With a rich history of our own dating to 1890 that is rooted in serving Hillcrest and all of central San Diego, Scripps Mercy Hospital honors the history of our community. In July we celebrated our 120th anniversary with a free public event attended by hundreds of area residents. We also honor our history by maintaining three historically designated buildings on our campus – the Mercy Chapel on the east side of our campus, the original Nursing School, and the third, Mercy Gardens, which is a residence for people with HIV/AIDS. The house located at 4040 Fifth Avenue was acquired by Scripps Health in 2007 from then- owner Lora Ludwig, who wanted to make the property available to us to aid in our expansion because of the excellent care she received at Scripps Mercy Hospital. When Scripps purchased the property, it was already uninhabited and in very poor condition. It was after our purchase of the property that the home was deemed historic. Scripps recognizes and respects the historical significance of the home, which is why we are actively working with historic home restoration expert Carolyn Kutzke. She is committed to restoring the home and finding an appropriate location to relocate it. Ms. Kutzke has a terrific track record of restoring and rehabilitating historic homes and believes the current location is not appropriate for such a historic structure. Surrounded by commercial and medical buildings, the house is the only non-commercial building on the block. Scripps Mercy Hospital must expand to meet the area’s growing health care needs. The Sisters of Mercy, in establishing the hospital 120 years ago, were committed to serving the entire community. Today, we need to expand to fulfill our health care mission. Due to state seismic requirements, we must rebuild the hospital – while operating the existing facility. In this urban neighborhood, we have limited development options. There is no land to the north or east of the campus. The land at 4040 Fifth Avenue is critical to our mission to meet the health care needs of Hillcrest and surrounding communities. While the Sisters of Mercy are proud of their history and heritage, they have no desire or plans for a museum. The best way to honor their mission of healing is to allow Scripps Mercy to expand to serve more patients. The words of Mother Mary Michael Cummings are as true today as they were in 1890: “We have come to remain, and shall build in time.” Tom Gammier, Chief Executive of Scripps Mercy Hospital Sister JoCeal Young, Sisters of Mercy