Here’s how much it could cost to fix the damage from the Meridian ambulance crash
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Rose Evans and Carolyn Komatsoulis, Idaho Statesman
MERIDIAN (Idaho Statesman) — It could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to fix the damage caused when an Idaho woman allegedly drove an ambulance into a Meridian building where the Department of Homeland Security leases office space, a new document shows.
A building-permit request filed with the city of Meridian estimates that repairs to the lobby of the St. Luke’s Portico North building would cost $700,000.
The six-story office building is located at the southeast corner of Eagle and Franklin roads, one block north of St. Luke’s Meridian hospital. And it’s where prosecutors say the woman drove through the south entrance doors and into the lobby on Feb. 18, according to prosecutors. No one was injured, police said, but the building sustained “significant damage,” a St. Luke’s spokesperson said at the time.
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The spokesperson, Christine Myron, told the Idaho Statesman on Tuesday that the building has remained closed since the incident and that “due to the extent of the damage and the scope of the repairs,” there is no estimated date for reopening. In response to follow-up questions about the building permit, she added that repairs are still being assessed, and the health system doesn’t yet have a full cost estimate.
But the known repairs so far? According to the permit materials, filed by a Meridian design firm, needed repairs and improvements are expected to include: new sliding glass entry doors on both the north and south entryways, new flooring, wall and ceiling finishes in the lobby area, elevator shaft repairs, and some “minor” fire alarm, sprinkler and electrical work.
Existing construction would be protected during the work, permit materials show. The total construction area is just shy of 2,900 square feet — about the size of a standard tennis court.
Corner Office Design LLC filed the permit with the city on March 31. According to the city’s online database, the permit request documents are under review.
In February, when the existence of the Department of Homeland Security lease was first reported, Myron told the Statesman that the building was not used for clinical care.
“St. Luke’s has worked with a variety of organizations, including the General Services Administration, over the years to temporarily lease unused office space,” Myron said in an email at the time. “Last fall, GSA signed a lease for the Department of Homeland Security to utilize administrative office space in the Portico North office building near Franklin and S. Eagle Road.”
Sarah George, of Boise, stole a Canyon County Paramedics ambulance from St. Luke’s Meridian before crashing it into the Portico North building, according to the prosecution’s motion for detention. She allegedly tried to light a fire before being scared off, police said.
Prosecutors asked U.S. Magistrate Judge Debora K. Grasham to keep George in detention, and Grasham agreed. Her trial is scheduled for April 20, according to online court records.
It is unclear whether additional repairs will be needed beyond those referenced in the permit. In the meantime, Myron said workers typically based in Portico North have been relocated to other locations temporarily.