Norwood Hospital has sat vacant for six years, even as multiple hospital operators expressed interest in reopening it for a community that suddenly lost access to critical medical care.

U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch told WBUR that half a dozen different hospital operators drafted proposals for the site since its former operator, Steward Health Care, declared bankruptcy in 2024. He said two contenders remain in active discussions with the hospital’s property owner.

“They’re good, solid hospitals,” Lynch said of the healthcare providers interested in the Norwood site. “We feel that if the right operator goes in there with a strong hand, and the right services, and a good reputation, it will be enormously successful.”

Lynch, a Democrat whose district includes Norwood, said he has been invited to about 10 meetings but declined to disclose specifics because he signed a non-disclosure agreement to participate in the talks.

Lynch and other public officials who represent Norwood accuse the property owner, hospital real estate investment giant Medical Properties Trust, or MPT, of failing to finish construction and get a deal done.

Officials at Alabama-based MPT said they have spent $350 million on the property and that the next phase of work cannot be done until a hospital operator agrees to reopen the facility.

“MPT wants to finish the job,” said Michael Ramsey, a spokesperson for the company.

The Boston Globe previously reported Mass General Brigham was seeking a deal to buy Norwood Hospital, but the real estate investment company raised its asking price from $250 million to $375 million.

Mass General Brigham spokesperson Jessica Pastore told WBUR “there are no conversations at this time” and declined to comment on any past negotiations.

Last week, Massachusetts House and Senate lawmakers approved legislation that gives the company an ultimatum: make a deal by Nov. 1 to reopen the hospital, or the state will take the property by eminent domain. Then, state officials would be responsible for finding a nonprofit hospital operator to take over.

Gov. Maura Healey is reviewing the legislation, according to her spokesperson.

Lynch said he wants the state to take the property by eminent domain because Medical Properties Trust has been uncooperative.

“We don’t trust them to be part of any future of Norwood Hospital,” he said. “They have been a complete disaster. We want them out of the picture.”

The hospital has been a topic on voters’ minds in Lynch’s district in southeastern Massachusetts. Attorney Patrick Roath is challenging Lynch in the Democratic primary on Sept. 1. Roath told WBUR he also supports the eminent domain legislation.

“It’s a huge issue that folks in Norwood are having to travel so far to get access to emergency medical care,” he said.

Norwood Hospital used to be part of Steward Health Care, a private for-profit health system that was founded with private equity backing. Steward sold all its hospital properties to MPT in 2016 and agreed to pay rent on them.

In 2020, Norwood Hospital was hit with a storm that left it severely damaged by flooding. It was forced to close. Steward vowed to rebuild, but the work was never completed, and Steward collapsed into bankruptcy in 2024.

With the hospital closed, patients and Norwood and surrounding communities have been forced to travel longer distances for care.

The property, meanwhile, remained under MPT’s control.

“They have not done anything on that property in a meaningful way,” Lynch said of the real estate investment company.

MPT officials said they have invested in the property and kept construction going. They said public officials should be “working collaboratively” with the company to find a new operator.

“Congressman Lynch and MPT disagree about how hospital real estate should work in this country,” said Ramsey, the spokesperson.

But he added, “On the outcome the Congressman cares about, there is no daylight between us. Norwood should reopen under a qualified nonprofit operator. MPT is prepared to consider financing the completion of the operator-specific buildout.”

Many public officials have criticized MPT’s entire business model — to acquire hospital properties and profit off lease payments — and argue hospital operators should have control of their own buildings. Norwood’s general manager, Tony Mazzucco, said he’s frustrated with the company.

“Construction moves at a snail’s pace and has for years,” he said. Years ago, the town “asked MPT to include us in their efforts to market the property and they have always declined to share what they are doing.”

Mazzucco said he’s “ecstatic” about the eminent domain bill and eager to see another company eventually take over the site — “as long as they are a nonprofit operator in Massachusetts with the financial capacity to undertake the project.”