Early last month, Healthy Communities of Clinton County Coalition announced they were withdrawing their purchase offer for the First Baptist Church building located at 301 S. Columbia Street in Frankfort due to financing. Healthy Communities was unable to secure the necessary financing to make the facility ADA compliant for medical use, which is required for many of their funding agencies.
The reason Healthy Communities wanted to purchase the building was to build a community center for health or a one stop stop for an individual’s needs.
With the need for another office because of the building of a new IU Health Hospital where they are located, Healthy Communities had been searching for other locations. That search ended temporarily Wednesday as Healthy Communities and the City of Frankfort agreed to a one-year lease agreement for Healthy Communities to use the former Utility Billing Office at 16 N. Main Street in downtown Frankfort.
“We’re very excited about the opportunity to have the space for up to a year,” said Healthy Communities Board Member Carol Price. “We need to form a partnership that we’re looking into and to look for a space that we can renovate with less cost for ADA. We’re required to be ADA compliant through all of our grants. So, it’s really a big deal for us.”
Price said they will keep their current office at 1458 Oak Street open and it will become a reproductive health office for pregnant women, for people looking to be pregnant and for those who do not want to become pregnant. Price said all other services that Healthy Communities offers will move into the first floor of the former Utility Billing Office. She added nine people will be in the downtown facility and four will occupy the building on Oak Street.
“We do need 3 to 5,000 square feet at the minimum. 8,000 would be wonderful,” said Price. “We just do a lot of different services for the community and it takes a lot of space.”