COUNTY NEWS UPDATE

By DEBRA HAIGHT
BCR Correspondent
BUCHANAN – Two new projects are coming to the city of Buchanan after action by both the Buchanan City Commission and the Berrien County Board of Commissioners.
Buchanan city officials announced that they had acquired the former Baroda Tire property for redevelopment of the four acre parcel on South Red Bud Trail. That area is a major gateway to the city.
Meanwhile, Berrien County Commissioners moved to purchase another Buchanan landmark, the former AEP headquarters building on Circle Drive off of Main Street on the city’s north side.
Commissioners approved the purchase of the 19.19 acre property for a price of $200,000. That price includes both the office building there as well as the land around it which is expected to be home to a new communications tower.
The resolution passed unanimously by commissioners states that the acquisition of the property “represents a unique and cost effective opportunity for Berrien County address current and future facility needs and requirements.”
As outlined earlier last month by Berrien County Administrator Brian Dissette, the goal is for the AEP property to be the new home of the county’s Emergency Operations and 9-1-1 Centers. Those centers are now located at the county’s 2100 Empire Facility in Benton Harbor.
Dissette said then that the new south county 800 megahertz communications tower will be built on the AEP property. The county has been looking for a location for a new tower in the south county for the last few years. The county received a $5 million state grant to help pay for the tower project last fall. The entire tower project is expected to cost $7.8 million.
In addition to the county operations to be located at the AEP site, Dissette said that the building will give the county board space for a conference room to hold meetings in the south county as well as space for at least some Buchanan city offices now in the Buchanan City Hall.
County Commissioner and Administration Committee Chair Jim Curran reported that he and other county officials toured the AEP facility July 20 with State Sen. Kim LaSata. LaSata was instrumental in securing the $5 million state grant.
“I think she was impressed with the fact that we got this building, something that nice,” Curran said.
Meanwhile, Buchanan Community Development Director Richard Murphy announced last week that the city had closed on the purchase of the former home of Baroda Tire in Buchanan.
The former Baroda Tire is located at 708 South Redbud Trail, just past the railroad tracks off of US-12. Murphy said the older structure on the property will be torn down, along with the 111 Railroad property—commonly known as the “Old Feed Mill.”
“The two adjoining properties are located in a prime position on an important and strategic commercial corridor, which serves as the main Gateway for many who visit Buchanan from the Chicago area,” he stated in a press release.
He noted that with demolitions of the obsolete structures on both sites taking place soon, the City of Buchanan is looking forward to making the properties available for redevelopment.
City Manager Heather Grace said of the purchase, “We are extremely excited to help bring about this compelling redevelopment opportunity of nearly four acres of land at Buchanan’s Southern Gateway.”
“The Buchanan City Commission is looking forward to a new chapter of revitalization and it is now making strategic and bold moves towards that implementation,” Murphy added. “It takes time, but we are making progress on these redevelopment assets that we feel will be attractive to the market, create jobs, and build up the tax base in Buchanan.”
Mayor Sean Denison was in agreement with Murphy and Grace, stating, “Keep your eyes on Buchanan—there are many more great things to come!”
The Buchanan AEP purchase wasn’t the only property project on the county’s radar last week. Commissioners also talked about the status of the old Berrien General Hospital property in Berrien Township and how changes there could affect the proposed “county campus” on Napier Avenue.
Berrien County Commissioner Jim Curran reported last week that Dr. Loren Hamel of Spectrum Lakeland Health had spoken to the administration committee earlier last Thursday and will be making a similar presentation to the full board at a future Committee of the Whole meeting.
Spectrum Lakeland owns the former Berrien General Hospital property off Dean’s Hill Road in Berrien Township which is located adjacent to the Berrien County Juvenile Center. The hospital is currently leased by the Sacred Heart organization which provides substance abuse and other services. It is the only residential drug treatment program in the county.
Hamel said the hospital building is in bad shape and that Sacred Heart is looking for a new location. He proposed having the county build a 14,000 square foot, $5.6 million facility which would be leased back to Lakeland and Sacred Heart.
Curran said the new facility could be built next to the proposed new juvenile center which will likely be constructed on the county’s Napier Avenue campus. He said that county officials including Berrien County Chief Trial Judge Mabel Mayfield like the idea of having the Sacred Heart facility close to the juvenile center so juveniles can take advantage of their services.
“The concept is to build three buildings with the juvenile center and Sacred Heart done now and the Family Court later,” Curran said. “Then we can see how much land is left over for other county facilities. This is all concept, but we want you to visualize what it could be.”
While Commissioner Ezra Scott questioned using taxpayer money for this project, Dissette said there is a synchronicity to having the Sacred Heart facility next to the juvenile center. “If we don’t find a space for them, if we don’t step in and provide services, they (Sacred Heart) will go elsewhere and youth will end up in the ER or in jail,” he said.
Where does that leave the current juvenile center/hospital treatment center site? Dissette said late last week that he anticipates that the county will demolish the hospital part of the site. The county sold the hospital to Spectrum Lakeland in 1993 with the understanding that it would revert back to the county if Lakeland no longer used it.
“At this time, we anticipate demolition to occur for the old hospital,” he said. “We don’t have a redevelopment plan for the site, at this time. We anticipate that we’ll explore an expansion of the park boundary, but we will also explore whether an economic development project could occur.”
The hospital/juvenile center site borders Love Creek County Park.