Northwest Center is moving ... but just down the street

LAKEVILLE — “For sale� signs have appeared on the front lawn of the Lakeville office of CMHA’s Northwest Center for Family Services, but they shouldn’t cause anxiety for local residents. The center is not closing or leaving town; it is simply moving down the street, to the white building across from The Boathouse restaurant. The building was the home for many years to the chiropractic practice of Stephen Owens, who died in 2007. It is now owned by his widow, Eleanor Owens.

The Northwest Center has been a part of CMHA, a statewide provider of mental health and substance abuse treatment services, since 2007.  CMHA has its headquarters in New Britain and has 18 locations in seven cities and towns.

One reason the Northwest Center allied itself with CMHA was to streamline its administrative costs; much of the work that used to be done in the Lakeville office can now be done at the central  office in New Britain or at other CMHA offices around the state. Because of that, explained CMHA President and CEO Ray Gorman, many of the offices in the two-story Northwest Center building in Lakeville are empty.

“This building had offices for a director, an executive director and billing staff,� Gorman said. “Now all those functions are centralized. So now all that we really need here in Lakeville are three or four offices for clinical care.�

The new offices in the Owens building are also more private, Gorman said.

“Our clients used to tell us that they were uncomfortable parking their cars in our lot, because it’s right across from the drive-through lanes for Salisbury Bank and Trust,� he explained. “The parking lot at the Owens building is more sheltered.�

Also, he noted, the handicap access to the current building is limited at best. Most of the clinical offices, he noted, are upstairs, and the building does not have an elevator. And the bathrooms are not handicapped accessible.

An additional incentive for the move, he said, is the regulations that govern state aid to mental health and substance abuse facilities. The state doesn’t allow nonprofits to use grants for capital expenses, such as owning and repairing buildings.

“This building has been owned by the Northwest Center since the 1950s,� Gorman said. “But the heat and maintenance costs are ongoing and state grants cannot be used to pay for those costs or, for example, the cost of fixing the roof, if needed. And state grants can be used to pay interest on a mortgage but not principal. However, grants can pay for 100 percent of a lease.�

He added that the lease agreement that has been worked out for the new space “is very favorable. Our operating expenses will go down.�

Streamlining expenses is vital for nonprofits such as CMHA. “Reimbursement streams from insurance companies do not meet our costs,� Gorman said. “We’re a small group and don’t have the clout to negotiate favorable rates with the big commercial insurers. So we need to cut our costs wherever we can.�

The Northwest Center will remain at 315 Main St. until probably January 2011, Gorman said, while some cosmetic changes and upgrades are made to the offices at the Owens building at 350 Main St.

“We’re not going anywhere,� Gorman said, of fears that the center will shut down. “We are relocating but expanding our services; we’ve joined forces with Prime Time House in Torrington and are offering rehab services. We are committed to this community. This is not an issue of concern.�