A new $3.5 million, one-floor facility on the Guest House grounds will undoubtedly make life easier for everyone when it opens next year.
Guest House President and CEO Dan Kidd said next April will likely be the grand opening for the 16-bedroom facility, after a groundbreaking ceremony was held on June 27.
Guest House is the is the world’s largest provider of alcoholism and substance abuse services to Catholic clergy and nuns, and currently serves nuns at the campus on Joslyn Road.
The present treatment center is located in the former Scripps Mansion.
‘It’s our new venture,? Kidd said of the new treatment center. ‘We’re moving towards the future.
‘It will be much nicer for the sisters to have the new treatment center,? he said, noting that the staff will also appreciate it.
The new building is designed to be accessible for people with disabilities, and will also have a great view overlooking an undeveloped valley with plenty of wildlife.
The need for the new facility became apparent after an electrical fire claimed one of Guest House’s two existing buildings in 2004.
That 7,000-square foot building had nine bedrooms, whereas the new building is 17,000-square feet, and will have 10 offices, a kitchen, a dining room, and lounges accompanying its 16 bedrooms.
It’s located near the current eight-bedroom building in the rear of the over 100- acre property owned by Guest House.
Forty-three acres of the property was first purchased back in 1956, and included the mansion.
Considered to be one of the top architectural buildings in the state, the mansion has housed the sisters since the fire.
‘The mansion is an incredible work of art,? Kidd said. ‘It’s great architecture.
‘Part of our thinking is that we’ll be able to use the mansion more for events,? he added, noting that the building costs upwards of $500,000 to maintain each year, and that creating some revenue to pay those costs is essential.
‘It’s an important property for Orion Township too,? he said.
Bringing events to the mansion will likely help other area businesses in the process, including Canterbury Village.
The new building is just one of many ongoing projects that Guest House has undertaken in the past few years.
The grounds expanded to their current size of over 100 acres, which includes Round Lake, in the 1970s.
‘We’ve been trying to improve the grounds,? Kidd said, adding that restoring the property’s historic gardens and other improvement projects began in 2003, when college students were hired to work in the summer.
‘This was a huge property that was really overgrown,? said Kidd.
Five students are working on the grounds this summer, and an outdoor chapel and new garage are just some of the other recently finished projects at Guest House.
The grounds first served as a treatment center for priests, and did so for 36 years after the 1956 purchase.
In 1992, the facility was closed and the priests? center moved to Minnesota. In 1994 the facility was reopened as a center for nuns, treating everything from drug and alcohol addiction to gambling and eating disorders.
‘We treat about 35 to 40 sisters a year,? Kidd said, adding that the sisters stay anywhere from four to eight months on average.
Since reopening in 1994, Guest House has served over 300 nuns.
The new facility will not lead to serving a higher number of sisters, but rather will help in treating them more effectively.
Guest House employs 70 workers on its campus, including 50 full-time employees.
‘We’ve been a fairly good employer for Orion Township,? Kidd said, thanking the township for their help in the current project.
He also complimented the Guest House Board of Trustees for their vision in realizing the need for a new handicap- accessible building.
Central air and city water are among some of the other features the sisters will be treated to in the new building.
‘I’d rather not have had the fire, obviously,? Kidd said. ‘But out of a disaster like that, hopefully something good can come.?