Developer Tom O’Brien Offers New Plans for Carney Hospital Site in Dorchester

A Boston-based developer led by Thomas N. O'Brien has been contracted to create a redevelopment plan for the 12.7-acre Carney Hospital site in Dorchester. The facility closed in August 2024 due to bankruptcy.

O'Brien's firm, HYM Investment Group, is engaging with local leaders and the community to gather input. Plans include concepts around health care, housing, and open space, including possibly demolishing existing buildings.

HYM said it will work with My City at Peace (MyCAP), a local community advocacy group, to devise a framework for the property.

The 12.7-acre site is currently owned by Apollo. This private equity giant acquired the land and hospital buildings from Steward Health Care, the hospital's former owner, and its landlords, Medical Properties Trust and Macquarie Infrastructure Partners. The complex real estate organization contributed to Steward's financial challenges, as the for-profit health care firm buckled under millions of dollars in rent payments.

Carney Hospital was a historic institution that had served Boston's low-income community since 1863. When it closed in 2024, it left the neighborhood with a health care desert.

According to the Boston Globe, a report by the Carney Working Group in April recommended maintaining health care services on the site. The report also focused on long-term financial sustainability, possibly through specialty services with higher revenue margins.

“We recognize the important role the Carney Hospital has played in the Dorchester community, and we see the future of this site as an opportunity to create something that is once again meaningful for the neighborhood,” O'Brien said in a statement shared with the Boston Globe.

Boston Mayor Michele Wu has emphasized that she wants a health care-related service restored as part of any redevelopment of the Carney site. According to the Dorchester Reporter, Wu stated that her office would likely move to block any effort that did not include uses that included “the provision of health care.”