By Elle Perry - Digital Producer, Memphis Business Journal
Christ Community Health Services' (CCHS) busiest and highest volume medical clinic is currently undergoing a $1 million renovation and expansion.
CCHS is adding 3,000 square feet to the 10,000-square-foot building. After that is complete, in mid-March, CCHS will begin renovating about 80 percent of the original building, said Burt Waller, project manager and past CEO of the organization. The project is scheduled to be completed by late August.
"Christ Community's health services in the Binghampton neighborhood are the only health care services immediately available to that community," Waller said.
The updates to the building at 2861 Broad Ave. will add patient privacy and integrate behavioral health services into the primary care setting. The additional space will also allow the clinic to see more patients, Waller said. The work is being funded by a federal grant.
"We are adding capacity to provide behavioral care where there has been none," Waller said. "There will be capacity to have several behavioral health providers."
CCHS is continuing to see patients during the renovation.
The facility serves middle- to low-income people from the immediate Binghampton community, as well as the nearby Summer Avenue and Jackson Avenue corridors.
The organization built the medical clinic in 2001 with a grant from Memphis' Assisi Foundation. In 2009, CCHS received funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to later open a dental clinic about a block away.
Archimania is the renovation project architect; the firm designed the original building. CCHS brought the firm back for the new project because it wanted to preserve the "unique characteristics of the building." Archimania received the Merit Award in Architecture in 2003 from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Tennesee for the work.
The project contractor is Montgomery Martin Contractors LLC.
"This is a tangible demonstration of our continuing commitment to the Binghampton community and Summer/Jackson corridor," Waller said, "to ensure people living in those communities have convenient, affordable access to medical and dental care."