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Downtown Chillicothe Building To Be Rehabilitated
< < Back toA regional health system will partner with Chillicothe city leaders to rehabilitate a downtown building that was gutted by arson fire more than nine years ago.
Adena Health System leaders made the announcement Thursday they plan to lease the Carlisle and Howson Buildings on Paint and Main Streets.
Mayor Jack Everson says Adena will use the first, second and fourth floors for non-clinical offices.
The city will most several offices and departments to occupy the third floor.
Other parts of the building will be for retail, office and residential use.
Everson says the project will be the start of big changes in the area.
"We feel this is going to be a catalyst event just to unleash a real interest in renovating the downtown area and turn it into a nightlife and residential kind of place, much like Granville or German Village," he said.
A feasibility study will be conducted to make sure the project is possible.
The findings of the study will be presented to the City Council within 60 days.
Everson says he knows some people may be wary the project will actually get off the ground, but it has the support to succeed.
"So many times, over the years since the Carlisle burned, there's been people that have stepped up and said 'hey, we're gonna do this, we're gonna do that' without any really comprehensive plan to get it done. I just want to assure people this is something that' going to happen and the work is going to start very soon," said Everson.
The rehabilitation is expected to take about two years, but the project has been a long time coming.
Everson says Marvin Jones, president and CEO of the Chillicothe Ross Chamber of Commerce, spearheaded the initiative, but the concept surfaced during the 2007 Hyatt Palma study of the downtown area by a consultant.
Much of the study hinged on revitalizing the Carlisle building. Everson says city leaders even looked at using a tax levy to pay for renovations, but in the end, it was too much square footage, space and cost to go it alone.
A feasibility study will be conducted to make sure the project is possible.
The findings of the study will be presented to the city council within 60 days.
Other partners in the project include the city of Chillicothe, Huntington National Bank and The Chesler Group, a development firm.