Former CSH nursing home drawing interest

Feb. 26—One building on the former Central State Hospital campus may be returned to its past purpose.

The nursing home center located on Shop Road has drawn interest from a party wanting to open an assisted living facility, according to Central State Hospital Local Redevelopment Authority (CSHLRA) Board Chair Johnny Grant.

The matter was discussed at the Feb. 15 CSHLRA board meeting. Grant told The Union-Recorder Thursday that the unnamed interested party is now in a 90-day due-diligence period to look over the 5.7-acre property to see if it's suitable for their needs. Initial terms have been discussed but are subject to change based on findings during the due-diligence period. The property is listed with Fickling & Company at $400,000.

The former and possible once-again nursing home property is located at 480 Shop Road, which is south of the pecan grove. The building is more than 26,000 square feet according to the real estate listing on Fickling's website. The structure is approaching 85 years old and was built in 1939.

Grant said the building is going to require "a good bit" of work. The entire roof needs replacing, which will be a significant expense with the building's size. There's also interior damage due in part to the roof letting the elements in. Tarps had been placed on the roof to mitigate interior damage, but tarps don't keep out vandals who break windows and create other destruction.

"It's just like most of the other buildings that have been sitting there for 20 years with nobody in them," said Grant. "There's a lot that has to be done, but the bones are good. The foundation's solid and the masonry structure is very sound."

The CSHLRA board chair hopes a deal can be struck in the coming months.

"It would be a great addition to the campus," Grant said. "Any activity we have out there — investment activity, job activity, and people living in the area — it just helps bring life to the campus."

In other business this month, the Redevelopment Authority also adopted a set of bylaws. Grant said much of the language for the bylaws was pulled from Ga. House Bill 815, which is CSHLRA's enabling legislation. In creating the bylaws, the wording from the legislation has been made more digestible for board members. The chairman added that a board training session has been scheduled for the end of next month. He said it will be run as a work session, which will be open to the public, but no voting action will be taken.

___

(c)2023 The Union-Recorder (Milledgeville, Ga.)

Visit The Union-Recorder (Milledgeville, Ga.) at unionrecorder.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.