Redevelopment of the Irish Hospital

Building Background

Designed by architect Thorwald Thorson, it was built in the early 1930s by Dr. Thomas Irish in honor of his father. Dr. Irish and Dr. Thomas operated the hospital together from the late 1930s until the early 1940s. However, Dr. Irish sold both the building and the equipment to the city when he enlisted as a Navy surgeon during World War II (Hillesland, 2021).

When a new hospital opened on the east side of Forest City in the 1970s, the Irish Hospital closed. The building was then modified with jail cells, bullet-proof windows, and a small addition for the sheriff’s department (Hillesland, 2021).

Project Background

Redevelopment Attraction

I attended an opening reception at the MidAmerica Economic Development Council conference in Chicago in December 2019. I was tired, and wasn’t really up for networking. That’s where I met Beth Bilyeu. We introduced ourselves and told each other what we do. She said, “I’m looking for a developer. Do you know anyone?”

I said, “I may…. What do you have?”

Beth told me about the former Irish Hospital throughout the conference. When she returned to Forest City, she sent me information about the building including a potential layout for an adaptive reuse to multi-family.

I was really intrigued. Redevelopment Resources does a lot of work helping communities solve their housing shortage challenges. I often think that our firm should be a part of the solution by developing housing ourselves. This project sounded as if it was right-sized for us, located downtown, and in a community with a lot of really great economic drivers.

Financial Feasibility

COVID hit and our conversation paused for a little while. Our 2020 application for Workforce Housing tax credits was denied because we didn’t have the numbers solidified quite yet. By November 2020, it didn’t look as if this project would be fiscally feasible. But Beth, being the excellent Economic Development practitioner that she is, wouldn’t let the project die. In early 2021, she encouraged us to apply for the IEDA’s Catalyst grant, 2021 workforce housing tax credits, and redevelopment tax credits. She also urged the Forest City Housing Commission to support our project with a small gap financing loan. We secured grant commitments from the County Board and City of Forest City electric utility / City Council.

Groundbreaking

On Nov. 10, we celebrated the grand opening with our partners at the city, county, region, and state as well as members of the public. We wanted to bring the building back to life in a high-quality way, to honor the building and the community.

Redevelopment at Work

We’re ready to take on construction!
Image Source: Globe Gazette. Dec. 2, 2021. Forest City celebrates saving former Irish Hospital at Nov. 30 groundbreaking.

The building is approximately 7,500 square feet total between two floors. Eight (8) new apartments are furnished with kitchen appliances, washers, and dryers. Handicap-adaptable units are located on the first floor. There are six (6) one-bedroom units and two (2) two-bedroom units. Each unit is uniquely laid out.

Henkel Construction began work on the building in March of 2022. Improvements included: