CLEVELAND — Those at NEON Health told News 5 they expect to take at least another year and $30 million to restore the Hough Health Center, which caught fire in 2021.
As Northeast Ohio Neighborhood (NEON) Health Services, Inc. President and CEO Willie F. Austin points out, negotiations continue with insurance, but he hopes to begin restoration work in the next two months.
RELATED: Too soon to tell if Hough Health Center, damaged by fire Wednesday night, can be saved
"It’s almost like building a new building," he said. "We’ve got to do restoration work from the top floor down through the basement."
While the building's exterior appears almost the same as it did right after the fire, the inside has been gutted as the nonprofit waits for bids to begin the restoration process.
"[It's been] frustrating but I guess necessary, more so than people realize," Austin said.
While much of the layout will remain the same, Austin explained that some improvements will be made, such as locating dental operations in one dedicated area as opposed to throughout the floor.
However, once restoration begins, Austin told News 5 a whole new set of challenges begin as well.
"The pandemic has created a situation where supplies are difficult to get and labor costs are going up," he said.
In total, Austin expects it will take at least $30 million to reopen.
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While the building has sat empty, with patients being sent elsewhere, those in the Hough community anxiously wait for its return.
"That’s the only clinic that did everything for us," patient Linda Taylor said. "Getting health care, [pediatrics], dental records, birth shots, that clinic did everything in the neighborhood. There’s really nowhere else for us to go."
Taylor owns the nearby Lynn’s Deli, which closed shortly after the fire after it saw an 80% drop in business.
"When the clinic closed, all my lunch people stopped coming," Taylor said. "It's time to reopen [Hough Health Center.] This is the key to the Hough neighborhood."
Taylor told News 5 she is no longer waiting, she plans to reopen her deli this Friday.
"I’m going to max out my credit cards cause the money has to keep flowing," she said. "I’m still paying the light, the gas, the insurance, and the property taxes."
Cause of the 2021 fire is still unknown
Cleveland Fire Investigators confirmed to News 5 that they could not determine both the cause of the three-alarm fire and the heat source.
Austin helped design the building back in the 1970s and that unanswered question still makes him wonder.
"I'm the guy who was responsible for building that building," he said. "It was a closed system, meaning that the design was to discourage fires where you had metal studs in the wall and concrete between the ceiling and the roof."
As Austin recalls, that setup should have limited any fire and smoke to a specific zone of a building.
"I wouldn't even want to begin speculating on how and why that fire started," he said. "I will only say that is awfully convenient. It started 10 minutes after our late evening service, so that's about 10 minutes after 9 p.m."
Regardless, Austin remains relieved that all the employees and security were safely out of the building during the fire.
So when will it reopen?
In a dream world, Austin wishes the Hough Health Center already reopened.
However, he says he hopes it could reopen within a year.
"Realistically, I would like it to not take more than a year but I think minimally I think it's going to take that long," he said. "They’re going to have a new facility in Hough in the same location that they can be proud of."
Clay LePard is a special projects reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow him on Twitter @ClayLePard or on Facebook Clay LePard News 5.
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