Franklin County could break ground this year on a $50 million mental health and addiction center that includes short-term beds, a walk-in clinic and inpatient treatment.

The $5 million that the region is requesting from the state for the center tops central Ohio’s list of 41 ideas for how state lawmakers can spend some of the $150 million earmarked in the state’s upcoming capital budget for local-construction projects around the state.

The Franklin County Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Board acquired three acres at Harmon and Souder avenues in Franklinton last year to build the facility.

“It’s a stand-alone new facility to help address the ongoing crisis we have here,” Franklin County Commissioner John O’Grady said.

The “core” of the services provided at the 72,000-square-foot Franklin County Mental Health and Addiction Crisis Center would be observation beds for those patients. But the center also would include about 16 inpatient beds and a new walk-in clinic, said Jeff Klingler, president of the Central Ohio Hospital Council. It also would offer basic medical care.

Combining those services under one roof would be unique in central Ohio, said Jonathan Thomas, vice president of planning and evaluation with ADAMH.

The group developing the plans estimates that the center could have about 30,000 encounters in its first year, including about 7,000 at the walk-in clinic. It would be the target center for first responders to take patients in need of addiction or psychiatric care, Klingler said.

“We’re really trying to design a new system of care for patients in psychiatric crisis. This is really a hub for psychiatric care in the community,” he said.

An operator has not been selected.

Thomas said the center would be funded through reimbursements from Medicaid, ADAMH and private insurance.

If ground is broken this year, the center could open in 2022, according to a report from a task force that developed the idea for the center.

Franklin County has committed $10 million for the project. The Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health board will contribute $8 million. An additional $8 million will come from central Ohio’s three hospital systems: OhioHealth, Ohio State University and Mount Carmel Health System.

That leaves about $24 million more to be raised to pay for the facility. In addition to the request to state lawmakers, the partners are in discussion with Columbus about the city contributing funding, Klingler said. The partners also will tap into the local corporate and philanthropic community.

“There’s a glaring need for this,” said Jeff Polesovsky, vice president of the Columbus Partnership.

In all, the Columbus region is requesting about $26.5 million from the state to support projects totaling more than $426 million. The requests include money to connect the Olentangy and Alum Creek bike trails, renovate the Ohio Theatre and build a hangar at the Knox County Regional Airport.

“We met three times over the last couple of months to organize and prioritize what the region is looking for in terms of economic development, arts and cultural and multi-use trail projects,” Polesovsky said.

There’s no guarantee that the items on the list will make it into the state’s $2.6 billion biannual capital budget. State lawmakers have the final say.

But Polesovsky said he is cautiously optimistic. Last time around, the Columbus Partnership successfully advocated for 25 of the 26 requests on its list.

Here’s a quick rundown of some of the bigger items on the list:

Connecting Columbus bike trails

Two projects, each asking for $1 million from the state, are aimed at connecting the area’s biking and running trails.

One would join the Olentangy and Alum Creek trails. The other is the Hudson Greenway Trail that would link the Linden area to the sports complex planned for the area next to Mapfre Stadium when the Columbus Crew moves to its new downtown soccer stadium.

Ohio Theatre

The Columbus Association for the Performing Arts is asking for $1.5 million toward its $5 million renovation of the historic showpiece across from the Statehouse.

The money would give the State Street icon known as the “Official Theatre of the State of Ohio” safety upgrades, security improvements and a face lift to address some of the “aging and worn interior elements.”

County Airports

The Knox County Regional and Rickenbacker airports are asking for a total of $2.67 million.

Rickenbacker wants to upgrade and expand its runways, while Knox County wants 100% of the money it needs to build a “multi-purpose hangar” that could be used by students who attend the Knox Area Career Center and the Knox County OSU extension.

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