The Indian River Hospital District has approved a three-year lease that will allow Thrive IRC to transform a vacant 10th Street building into a centralized hub for substance use recovery and mental health services.
The agreement marks the end of months of deliberation over the future of the roughly $4 million property, which had previously been considered for a women's sober living facility and was at one point discussed as a potential property to sell. Instead, trustees selected a proposal from Thrive IRC, a local nonprofit focused on substance abuse recovery.
Frank Isele, the hospital district's executive director, said the facility is expected to fill a gap in the county's behavioral health system.
"We've never had anything like this in our county. There's not a lot of these in the state. It's going to be operating 24-7, so folks are going to come in who are, you know, suffering and struggling with substance abuse, mental health issues, and they're going to be stabilized," Isele said. "Their access to resources is going to be coordinated, so they're going to have a clear plan. So it's going to make a pretty big impact for a lot of people in our community."
While the project differs from what was originally envisioned for the property several years ago, district leaders said the proposal addresses a broader need by serving as a central point of entry for people seeking treatment and recovery services.
"It's a very different project than was initially discussed, you know, several years ago. And understand that the initial discussion took place several years ago, and Thrive presented a proposal that seemed like it was a great solution for a single point of entry for a lot of folks looking for recovery," Isele said.
Under the lease, which runs from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2029, Thrive will pay no rent during the initial three-year term in exchange for meeting a series of operational and reporting requirements.
The nonprofit must provide quarterly updates on its capital campaign to purchase the property, along with reports detailing measurable outcomes, including the number of people served, connected to treatment and recovery services, follow-up appointment rates, peer support utilization and recovery housing outcomes.
The agreement also establishes milestones for opening the facility. Within 60 days of the lease beginning, Thrive must complete initial site readiness activities. By 180 days, the organization must finish interior preparations and hire and train core staff. Within 215 days, it must begin operating its centralized intake, respite and recovery housing services.
Isele said those benchmarks reflect the district's effort to ensure the project delivers measurable benefits for the community.
"It was a lot of work to put this together. That's why it took so much time. The trustees really wanted to be sure that in the end, we did the most responsible thing with these tax dollars, with this project, and there was definitely going to be the return on the investment in terms of benefit to the community that were being promised," he said.
In addition to operating the facility, Thrive will be responsible for most maintenance, repairs, utilities, taxes, insurance and day-to-day operating costs during the lease term.
The agreement also gives the nonprofit an option to purchase the property if it meets the lease requirements, with the sale price to be determined through an appraisal process and subject to approval by the hospital district's board.