CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESOURCE CENTER Read More
Add To Favorites

Mental Health board to build $490K development in Springfield

Springfield News-Sun (Ohio) - 7/3/2015

July 03--SPRINGFIELD -- A $490,000, four-unit residential facility with services for individuals with mental health issues will be developed on the corner of Cedar and Race streets in Springfield.

The Mental Health and Recovery Board of Clark, Greene and Madison Counties will develop the facility on a vacant lot owned by the city of Springfield. The board may receive about $275,000 in federal HOME dollars and $27,000 in Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2 funding from the city for the project.

Organizers hope to start construction on the two duplexes this fall, but have a few more pieces of due diligence to complete before the project is ready, said Dr. Kent Youngman, MHRB chief executive officer.

"We really want to develop something that's going to be an asset to the community," Youngman said. "It's going to be a real win-win."

The agency approached the city earlier this year about possible locations for the development. They settled on the lots at Cedar and Race streets, the location of the former Cedar Street Beef and Liquor -- located a few blocks west of both the Mental Health Services of Clark and Madison Counties, 474 N. Yellow Springs St., and Springfield Regional Medical Center, 100 Medical Center Drive.

"It turned out to be very convenient for that purpose," Youngman said.

City commissioners agreed to sell the two properties at 237 N. Race St. and 617 Cedar St. to MHRB last week for $1 because they are no longer needed for municipal purposes, according to public documents. Next week they'll likely vote on both the HOME and NSP funding agreements. The project will also have to be rezoned in the future.

The property is large enough to provide streetscape enhancement and landscaping to improve the neighborhood, said Springfield Community Development Director Shannon Meadows. The former commercial site will be redeveloped into a residential property that's more beneficial for the neighborhood.

"Right now, that large piece of property is not used appropriately in the sense that people cut through it, people do various nefarious things that aren't supportive of the single family residential environment that exists," Meadows said.

It's difficult to find housing for individuals who need extra support, Youngman said. The agency has been working with Mental Health Services to identify a need and secured capital money from the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services for the project.

The board hasn't built much recently, Youngman said, because money has been so tight. It built a six-unit development in Xenia last year, but identified a need in Clark County.

"There are other houses around (Springfield), but this is probably the first new development in over 20 years," Youngman said.

Residents will have a peer-support person on site to help them get where they need to be, while clinical services will take place elsewhere.

"This will be a supportive place to live," Youngman said.

The city purchased the property several years ago to take stress off the neighborhood, Springfield Housing Rehabilitation Coordinator Ed Leinasars said. As part of the project, the Mental Health board is negotiating to purchase the vacant home next door in order to demolish it.

"It's really going to help this neighborhood substantially," Leinasars said.

This spring, MHRB held a public meeting with the neighbors to inform them of the project. About 20 people attended, Youngman said.

"The message we got at the end was: 'We want it in our neighborhood, get started, get it built,'" Youngman said. "We were really happy. Good neighbors are important."

The development will make the neighborhood more attractive to other people, said Paul Johnson, who has lived on nearby Race Street for about four months.

"It'll be a good thing to try to change the neighborhood," Johnson said. "It'll do the trick. It'll make a whole lot of difference."

___

(c)2015 Springfield News-Sun, Ohio

Visit Springfield News-Sun, Ohio at www.springfieldnewssun.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.