The law, called the Surplus Land Act, was a major hurdle in the city's plan to pay back significant losses to the hospital's operator, Molina Wu Network, by transferring ownership of the 8.7-acre property in East Long Beach.
A 2019 law has thrown into jeopardy a proposed plan for the city to hand over the now-closed hospital to its operator for a mental health and wellness campus.
The lease change signifies the end of a failed effort to save the nearly 100-year-old hospital after it was shuttered in 2018 due to seismic compliance issues, leaving the East Long Beach area without an emergency room.