St. Luke’s Hospital wishes to expand. It asked the county if it could sell it 14.13 acres and a hospital building in order to qualify for a loan. The county is forbidden to sell the land without opening it to bids from “qualified healthcare providers.” Since the county has a good relationship with St. Luke’s, they did not want to risk having them lose the bidding process, so they are offering an extended lease that is expected to satisfy the lender. The hospital is still waiting for the state to approve its certificate of need.