EVERETT — Within a couple of years, Compass Health’s Broadway campus could be transformed into a modern center for acute behavioral and mental health needs.
The Everett-based agency is finalizing designs for a four-story building as part of a multi-phase redevelopment. Plans for the 72,000-square-foot facility include a 16-bed inpatient evaluation and treatment center, a 24-hour crisis triage center with 16 beds, room for outpatient services, and office space.
About 130 behavioral health and medical employees are projected to treat 1,500 people annually in the new space.
“It will enable our behavioral health professionals to keep community members engaged in treatment, prevent crises from escalating, and help stabilize clients’ well-being,” Compass Health CEO Tom Sebastian said in a news release, “so they can stay on track to achieve their goals for housing, employment, contributions to their communities and overall recovery.”
Compass Health estimates building the facility will cost $50 million.
The current building between 33rd and 34th streets is a vestige of past use. Part of the building was a long-term care site for Bethany of the Northwest.
To make room for the new facility, Compass Health will have a contractor tear down the current building, including the 1920-built brick exterior section on the north end of the block.
City of Everett staff are reviewing the project’s land use permits, spokesperson Kathleen Baxter said. Those must be approved before construction permits, which also include demolition work, can begin.
About 150 employees who work at the Broadway campus will be relocated during construction, Sebastian said. New or temporary sites are identified for “most,” he said.
Some will be in the first-floor office space at Andy’s Place, an 82-unit permanent supportive housing facility on the same block as the Broadway campus.
Others will take vacant space at other Compass Health facilities in Snohomish County or in new leased space in downtown Everett. Details on the latter were not finalized, but Sebastian said employees whose clients and work are based in Everett will stay in town.
“It will be an immediate improvement,” Sebastian told The Daily Herald. “Anybody moving out of that building is moving into a better space.”
All staff are expected to have new work sites by spring, when the agency aims to begin demolition. Compass Health doesn’t expect significant disruption in client service and treatment, except for “some limitations” during moving days.
In the footprint of the old building, Compass Health envisions two more phases for development. Phase 2 includes a 16-bed involuntary treatment facility and a 16-bed crisis triage center.
There’s also a two-level parking garage with 28 stalls, according to permit application documents. But the size and number of parking spots could change, Sebastian said. There’s also parking for 20 bikes in the plan.
So far the state has committed $21 million toward construction, with the rest being made up by major donations and an upcoming capital campaign. Bonds could cover any any funding gap.
Beyond that, more permanent supportive housing could follow in Phase 3, after the early successes of Andy’s Place, which opened in May.
Phase 3 is in early concept work, Sebastian said.
City records show Compass Health is looking at a seven-story mixed-use building with 74 housing units in 41,200 square feet, an outpatient clinic and administrative offices.
Sebastian said he hopes the success of Andy’s Place helps Compass Health garner public support for more housing that has 24-hour staffing.
“If we can show this can work … I think we can overcome what some quarters may feel,” Sebastian said.
Another 36 parking spots and 14 bike spaces are included.
Phase 3’s exact size and use depends on the community’s needs at the time of its development, Sebastian said.
Ben Watanabe: bwatanabe@heraldnet.com; 425-339-3037; Twitter @benwatanabe.
Correction: An earlier version misstated the size of the Phase 2 building, which is planned for 72,000 square feet.
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