Beaver Falls health clinic moves forward

BEAVER FALLS — Lewis County General Hospital officials are moving forward with the long-discussed conversion of the former Beaverite administrative building into a health clinic.

"We're probably looking at late this year or early next year" for completion of the project, said Eric R. Burch, chief executive officer at the county-owned hospital in Lowville.

County legislators on Tuesday approved borrowing up to $1.6 million to buy and renovate the two-story, 11,000-square-foot office building at 123 Main St.

"That's an all-in, high number," Mr. Burch said. "We would hope we wouldn't need it all, but you have to go conservative."

While the real estate closing still must be completed, necessary subdivisions already have been made and contractor bid documents are ready to be sent out, he said.

Hospital officials for the past few years have discussed the possibility of moving out of the cramped Beaver River Health Center on Route 126 between Beaver Falls and Croghan.

The hospital plans to purchase the old Beaverite building from the Lewis County Industrial Development Agency for $129,000. The hospital also would buy a 50-by-125-foot strip of land on the west side of the building, along with a 25-foot-wide easement around the back of the structure, from Omniafiltra for $1,000. The added land will be used for extra parking and better traffic flow.

The new clinic is to include "a main entrance and waiting areas on the upper level with additional support space and exam rooms on the lower level," according to the bonding resolution.

Renovation work will include new electrical, heating, ventilating, air-conditioning and plumbing systems, window replacement, widening of doorways, relocation of partition locations, addition of a lift for accessibility and exterior work to accommodate a new entrance and parking alterations.

"We're evaluating programs that can be moved over there," Mr. Burch said.

Specialists from the hospital's North State Street campus in Lowville also may be rotated to the larger clinic, and some space likely will be offered to other, non-medical agencies to provide some rental income, he said.

LCIDA in 2003 used $100,000 from the county and an additional $100,000 of its own money to purchase Beaverite's mill and office building on Main Street as part of the company's consolidation at its Croghan mill.

Omniafiltra, which operates a papermaking mill next to the old 35,000-square-foot Beaver-ite plant, is now leasing part of the old mill and plans to buy the building, along with a pump house and garage in the rear, according to LCIDA Executive Director Ned E. Cole.