An east Florence landmark, The Maud Lindsay Free Kindergarten, will move for the third time in its 100-plus-year existence to make room for a new hospital.

The storied kindergarten building sits on property recently declared surplus by the city council and city school board that share joint ownership. The school board owns the majority of the property, while the city owns a small portion of the lot. By declaring the property surplus, sale negotiations can move forward with RegionalCare, which plans to use the property for its new hospital.

District 3 Florence City Councilman Hermon Graham said his interest is in helping RegionalCare move forward in a timely manner with building plans while at the same time protecting the revered kindergarten.

“There’s a speculative lot the city owns just a couple of blocks from where it is located now that we’re looking at,” Graham said, adding that it’s on the corner of Enterprise and Central avenues.

“There will be no expense to the kindergarten and we hope to have it moved next summer, if everything goes according to plans. We certainly don’t want to interrupt the children’s school year.”

Lisa Singleton-Rickman can be reached at 256-740-5735 or lisa.singleton-rickman@TimesDaily.com.