Plan for psychiatric hospital in Vernon Hills withdrawn
A proposal to convert a vacant office building on Milwaukee Avenue in Vernon Hills to a 100-bed psychiatric hospital has been dropped and the property is back on the market.
US HealthVest LLC, a private firm based in New York, last fall received the village board's informal OK to begin the review process for a $20 million makeover of CDW's former administration building at 300 N. Milwaukee Ave.
But the company canceled return appearances before the village board. Last week, Assistant Village Manager Joe Carey told board members the company plans to withdraw its application.
Mayor Roger Byrne said US HealthVest was pursuing a plan in Waukegan instead.
"This was kind of abrupt," he said. "There were a lot of conditions we put on the table, in all honesty."
A US HealthVest official who led the effort in Vernon Hills could not be reached Wednesday.
During last week's board meeting, Trustee Cindy Hebda asked if it would be appropriate for the village to publicly endorse the proposal and the need for such a facility in Lake County.
"We know we have a need, and if there's a way to assist with that need in showing support, that's what I would like to see. We have so many people in our own community who asked for this," she said.
Byrne said the company was reluctant to commit to a long-term lease. Though generally in favor of a public statement in favor of the proposal, he said he did not want to mislead residents.
"I don't want to convey the fact this was a done deal and they took a walk," he said. "They were juggling a couple of different deals."
Carey on Wednesday said it would be premature to make a statement to residents until the village receives written notification from HealthVest that it is no longer pursing the CDW site.
There has been other interest in the 75,444-square-foot building that sits on about 8 acres since HealthVest withdrew two weeks ago, according to JMS Capital Group of Pittsburgh.
Any entity wishing to establish a hospital needs approval from the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board. US HealthVest had not submitted applications for either Vernon Hills or Waukegan, according to Jeannie Mitchell, the agency's assistant general counsel.
HealthVest in June 2016 received state approval to open a psychiatric hospital in Northbrook, but that project has stalled. The company intended to transfer that approval to Vernon Hills, Carey said.
The Vernon Hills proposal would require the village to approve a change in zoning rules to permit a hospital in the business park and a special use for the hospital to operate.
In April, the advisory planning and zoning commission recommended denial of the former but approved the latter, subject to the village board backing.
Some residents were concerned about the plan because a day care and Vernon Hills High School are nearby, but a majority of those who spoke at a public hearing voiced strong support. Many supporters are members of Lake County United, a group of more than two dozen churches and other organizations that advocate for several social causes, including better mental health care.