The Starke County Commissioners last night approved another extension of the lease deadline with Starke Hospital. The county owns the land and building at the corner of Culver Road and South Heaton Street in Knox. Starke Hospital wants to build a new facility there. Once it’s finished they plan to tear down the current building and use that spot for parking and green space.
Starke Hospital CEO Craig Felty says the site is centrally located and in a close proximity to a number of area physician offices.
He remains hopeful they can break ground on a new building by the end of 2016. Construction will take between nine and 12 months to complete, according to Felty. Once everything is transferred to the new building, demolition of the existing structure will take between three to six months. After it’s down, the area will be turned into green space and parking.
The commissioners and council have been meeting in executive session with hospital officials for several months to work out details of a new lease. Last night the commissioners unanimously approved a 31 day extension of the current lease, pushing it out to July 31st.
