In March, the residents of Centre Crest nursing home and rehabilitation center moved into the new Centre Care facility off Benner Pike, leaving behind the old 83-year-old facility in Bellefonte.
Now the county is looking at how to best use the building, which is owned by Centre County government.
Recently, the county commissioners hired an architectural firm, MG Architects, to look at the potential uses for the 118,569 square feet of usable space in the building.
“The commissioners want to make an informed decision as to what the best path forward is for the former Centre Crest facility,” said Deputy County Administrator John Franek Jr., who is the lead on the project. “Should the county sell the building? Does it make sense for the county to use the facility in some fashion for its own purposes? Those are a couple high-level questions that we are hoping to have answered through the adaptive reuse study.”
Franek said the study is still underway and that no decisions have been made at this point in time, but “initial feedback from the architect is that building is structurally sound and in excellent condition.”
“The original portion of the facility is quite old, and there have been additions/ renovations performed over the years,” Franek said. “Some items such as mechanical, electrical, plumbing (MEP) systems are dated and will need replacement. Internal finishes bare a resemblance to a medical facility, so an internal refresh would be needed depending on how the building may be used moving forward.
“Initial thinking is to create a centralized human services presence at the former Centre Crest facility, which would relocate some agencies from other locations within the county. We are concurrently evaluating what a move to the former Centre Crest facility would mean for the other locations that are owned by the county, such as Willowbank. Any vacated spaces at Willowbank would create an opportunity to address inefficiencies for agencies and services that would remain in that facility.”
Preliminary renderings show the county offices of aging, adult services and elections occupy space on the first floor of the building. There is also 3,934 square feet that could potentially be used by the Bellefonte Senior Center, which is currently located on North Spring Street.
The second floor would provide space for Children and Youth Services and the Offices of Mental Health, Intellectual Disabilities, Early Intervention and Drug and Alcohol.
The ground flood would provide a shared area along with spaces for the coroner and election storage.
“Some of the county’s agencies are quite cramped in their current locations,” Franek said. “Obviously, having more square footage would alleviate those conditions as well as allow for future growth. A centralized location for human services would also be a benefit to Centre County residents who rely on those services.”
Franek said the study is still in the early phases, and there are bound to be changes in the plans moving forward.
This story appears in the Sept. 9-15 edition of the Centre County Gazette.
