By: Deborah Johnson Wood
Last Thursday, network180 broke ground on a $6 million project to renovate its existing building on the Kent Community Hospital campus at 728 Fuller NE, Grand Rapids. The project also includes a 27,000-square-foot expansion. The project will combine the services the agency offers at its Fuller and Lake Drive locations.
Network180 provides access for persons suffering from mental illness to receive treatment and services provided by 32 agencies or hospitals in Greater Grand Rapids. The majority of clients are persons who have no insurance or are on Medicaid.
“Our current access center is aging and the design doesn’t accommodate individuals in crisis or have as comforting an atmosphere as we’d like,” says spokesperson Jonathan Mikulich. “We want a purposely designed access space and environment that encourages recovery and inspires hope.”
The three-level addition includes classroom space, training rooms, a large conference room with audio/visual technology, and smaller conference areas.
“We hope to dedicate an area as a consumer resource center where people receiving services can get info that will help them with their treatment,” Mikulich says. “We encourage our consumers to lead more self-determined lives and to be involved with their treatments, and we teach them micro-enterprising to help them start up their own businesses.”
The structure will have a dedicated ambulance entrance, something the current building doesn’t have.
“The building will be LEED certified,” says Joe Kuhn of Rockford Construction, the company handling construction, “with lots of natural light, low-water landscaping, a bike rack, a shower for employees who bike to work, and a reflective roof.”
Source: Jonathan Mikulick, network180; Joe Kuhn, Rockford Construction
Deborah Johnson Wood is the development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].
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