During the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency meeting, the Board of Directors unanimously approved a Payment In Lieu Of Taxes Agreement with Main Rd Med Group, LLC for the former Lakeshore Hospital.

The project includes the redevelopment and adaptive reuse of the 173,000 square foot facility which sits on about 33 acres of land at 845 Main Road. Main Rd Med Group recently acquired the property from Brooks-TLC and will lease the facility as a medical office building to New York Medical Center.

Once the project is completed, it will provide an estimated 180 beds, making it a behavioral health center for Western New York. It is also expected to create an estimated 300 permanent healthcare-related jobs within three years of completion, along with about 120 construction jobs.

Along with the 15-year PILOT agreement, the IDA approved a sales tax abatement and a mortgage tax exemption. The PILOT will produce payments to the affected taxing jurisdictions for around $2.5 million.

OBSERVER Photo by Gregory Bacon New York Medical Center Chief Executive Officer Raymond Manning, right, speaks at the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency meeting. Also pictured is IDA representative Kristine Morabito.

In August, New York Medical Center Chief Executive Officer Raymond Manning first appeared before the county IDA and explained their plans.

He said the 180 beds would be used for behavioral health and substance use disorder treatment.

Manning noted in the Silver Creek area it’s about a 45 minute drive to Jamestown and a 45 minute drive to Buffalo, the nearest treatment centers. “Obviously there’s a huge need in the northern part of the county,” he said previously.

Some of the services New York Medical Center plans to offer include:

– Detoxification and residential treatment;

OBSERVER Photo by Gregory Bacon Members of the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency look at renderings of the former Lakeshore Hospital in Irving.

– In-patient behavior health services for both children and adults;

– Outpatient programs and aftercare services;

– Evidenced-based therapies;

– Holistic therapies, including mindfulness and art;

– Electroconvulsive procedure therapy, which is used to help with severe depression.

Manning said they’re looking at two phases for the entire redevelopment.

Phase I will focus on the inpatient areas. For the first floor there will be units for 40 adults, 40 for geriatric patients, and 30 adolescent psych units.

For the second floor there will be up to a 20 bed pediatric psych unit, and 20 bed women and child substance use disorder residential treatment unit with five medically supervised withdrawal beds.

Phase II of the project will be renovation of outpatient spaces, including the old emergency room space, the old laboratory space, and the old radiology space.

Morabito noted the application submitted to the county IDA is for Phase I only. A future application would be needed for Phase II.

Phase II could include an emergency room, lab work, medical office space and non-medical commercial development, including a credit union in the building.

Manning said the both phases are expected to take three years to complete.

The bulk of the job creation will take place in the first two years.

On Tuesday, Manning was back at the IDA meeting and said they had hoped to start work sooner, but were delayed when the government was shut down. “We now have full approval for that funding,” he added.

So far they’ve done some roof repairs, installed new floors in the kitchen and administration area, and done some plumbing and electrical work.

Manning said they’re hoping to get their Certificate Of Need from the state in either February or March. Once they get that, they can start moving forward more aggressively.

LOCAL OFFICIALS PRAISE PROJECT

The project has been met with great anticipation and support by local, county and state officials, including County Executive PJ Wendel, county Chief Medical Officer Dr. Michael Faulk, county Mental Health and Social Services Director Carmelo Hernandez, Sheriff Jim Quattrone, state Sen. George Borrello, and state Assemblyman Andrew Molitor. It has also received support from the Seneca Nation of Indians, the Erie County Department of Mental Health, the town of Hanover, and the village of Silver Creek.

“This is not only a significant economic development project for our county, but also a significant healthcare project for residents from across Chautauqua County and Western New York,” said Mark Geise, Deputy County Executive and IDA Chief Executive Officer. “Not only will this project fill a great need in providing behavioral and mental health services, it will also bring a building back to life and provide much-needed healthcare-related jobs. The CCIDA is obviously happy to assist in making it a reality. Kudos to Kristine Morabito, CCIDA Project Manager, for her diligence and hard work in bringing this project across the finish line.”

“We’ve been well aware that this type of healthcare has been sorely needed in the north county for several years,” said Wendel. “Today’s action by the CCIDA Board is an important step toward making it a reality. We look forward to having this new facility open and ready to help our residents, while also providing new jobs for our residents.”

“For years, I’ve been pushing to see this site put back into service and to bring more healthcare options back to the north county, so (Tuesday’s) announcement is incredibly gratifying,” said Borrello. “This project means real access to critical behavioral health and recovery services for our residents, hundreds of good-paying healthcare jobs, and the long overdue revitalization of a facility that has been sitting empty for too long. It’s exactly the kind of smart, community-focused redevelopment we’ve been working toward.”

“The former Lakeshore Hospital was a major employer in the town of Hanover, in addition to providing community health services for nearly 100 years. I am very happy that the CCIDA is supporting the redevelopment of the former hospital. This support will bring back the jobs and medical services that we lost when this institution closed,” said Hanover Town Supervisor Lou Pelletter.

Manning thanked the county for its assistance. “This project is about restoring access to essential behavioral health and substance use disorder treatment services in a region that has gone without them for far too long,” he said. “By redeveloping the former Lakeshore Hospital, we are establishing a modern comprehensive treatment center that addresses mental health, addiction recovery, and related services for residents of Northern Chautauqua County and communities throughout Western New York.”

Pending the Certificate Of Need, developers say the project is estimated to be completed by July 2028.