HARRISONBURG—Rockingham Memorial Hospital and James Madison University have agreed in principle for JMU to purchase the hospital site adjacent to its campus.


In a Dec. 17 news release, JMU said that Gov. Mark Warner’s budget, released that day, includes funding for the project in his budget proposals that will go to the Virginia General Assembly in January.


The $50.6 million purchase is contingent upon approval of the Virginia General Assembly, the state administration, the JMU Board of Visitors and the RMH Board of Directors. According to the JMU release, the governor’s budget proposal calls for $40.6 million of the purchase price to come from the state’s General Fund. The remaining $10 million would come from funds raised by JMU through its auxiliary operations.


“We are grateful that the state is taking this action,” said Hospital President T. Carter Melton, Jr. “It will be good for all parties involved, including the community as a whole, RMH and JMU. This will play a major part in financing for the new hospital.”


Melton noted that JMU was given the right of first refusal of the property at a fair market price because the hospital felt it was in the community’s interest for JMU to purchase the property adjacent to its campus. “We had multiple appraisals conducted to establish the fair market price, and this deal meets the criteria in terms of a fair deal for the hospital,” he said.


RMH announced in September its plans to build a new facility on a larger site to better meet the health care needs of the community. The hospital announced Dec. 14 that it had selected the Harman site on Port Republic Road for the new campus.


JMU President Linwood H. Rose said that the addition of the RMH property would allow the university to ease its critical lack of space for current operations. He added that JMU also wants to help RMH achieve its goal of modernizing its facilities and services.


“That will benefit all of the Harrisonburg-Rockingham community,” he noted.

###