INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — The Indian River Hospital District is reconsidering plans for its 10th Street property, purchased in 2024 for $3.8 million with the original intent of developing a women’s sober living facility, as trustees review new community needs and four proposals from potential partners, and also open the door for a potential sale.
“Through our community, we do needs surveys and studies, and they look at what the healthcare needs are in the community,” said Frank Isele, executive director of the Indian River Hospital District. “There were discussions about looking at a property to fill a need, and that was for a women’s sober living residence at the time, so that was the initial project.”
Since that purchase, Isele said additional women’s sober living facilities have opened locally, prompting the district to reassess how the property could best be used.
“What’s happened over the past year or so, there’s been women’s sober living that has opened in our community. It kind of made us reevaluate the need and see how we could best use that investment to serve a new community need that had evolved from some new survey data. That’s what we’re looking to do now,” he said.
The district received four proposals from organizations seeking to lease and operate programs at the 620 and 650 10th Street properties.
One proposal came from Thrive, Inc., formerly known as the Substance Awareness Center, a nonprofit behavioral health organization in Indian River County.
Thrive proposes to operate two programs: a Centralized Intake and Respite Center at 650 10th Street that would serve as a 24/7 entry point for individuals seeking help for substance use disorders, and the Step One Recovery Residence at 620 10th Street, a staff-supported recovery housing program for individuals in early recovery.
Services would include intake assessments, short-term housing and peer support, with oversight from Thrive’s leadership team. The proposal cites gaps identified in the Indian River County Opioid Needs Assessment and emphasizes partnerships with courts, hospitals and behavioral health agencies.
PUR Health & Wellness, founded in 2021, also submitted a proposal. The organization offers detox, residential and outpatient behavioral health services and operates FARR-certified recovery residences in Indian River County.
PUR seeks to lease both 10th Street buildings to operate a 36-bed detoxification and residential treatment facility, with 24 male and 12 female beds. The facility would provide 24/7 medical supervision, therapy, case management and life skills development.
New Horizons of the Treasure Coast, founded in 1958 and serving more than 11,000 clients annually across four counties, has proposed a specialized behavioral health and substance use disorder treatment program with an emphasis on first responders.
The proposal includes inpatient and outpatient treatment, peer recovery and case management support, and confidential admissions coordinated with first responder unions. The target population includes law enforcement officers, firefighters, EMS personnel, corrections officers and dispatchers.
RiteLife Services, Inc., founded in 2021 and headquartered in Port St. Lucie, submitted a letter of intent proposing a peer-led, non-clinical respite and recovery housing model.
The proposal outlines a Peer Recovery and Workforce Development Center offering peer mentoring, recovery coaching, workforce training for Certified Recovery Peer Specialists, overdose prevention education and life-skills training. The respite housing would serve as short-term, non-medical recovery housing for adults and transitional-age youth.
Trustees have not yet made a final determination on the property’s future and are continuing their review of the proposals. If the trustees can not arrive at a proposal they believe to be suitable for the community, the property will be considered for sale.
“There was a discussion about just in case the trustees did not want to go forward, let’s get an appraisal and just see what the property value is,” Isele said. “The trustees have not made a decision yet. We’re still in the process of reviewing and discussing the proposals. At our chairman’s meeting in a couple weeks, we’re going to continue that discussion.”
The chairman’s meeting is scheduled for Dec. 17 at 10 a.m. and can be joined via Zoom.
“What we’re doing is we’re talking with the community and we’re hearing the proposals, and we’re looking at the data, and the trustees are going to decide, based on the evidence that we see for community need, what would be the best service, what would be the best use of this property, and what would be the best services to support in that property,” Isele said.