There is still a lot of work to be done before ground can be broken this May on the new Cassopolis Family Clinic.

According to Executive Director Mary Geegan Middleton, they are still in the planning stages for the new facility, which will be located on five acres on the southeast corner near Don Horne Park.

The cost of the new facility will be $6.4 million, of which, $4.4 million will be paid for through Health Resources and Services Administration funding and a $1.2 million loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development.

The remainder of the project will be paid for with an upcoming local frundraising campaign.

The new Cassopolis Family Clinic originally was slated to be a 24,000-square-foot facility built on its current location. However, it was discovered that the plans simply did not fit the location.

“It just seemed like every time we talked about how we were going to reroute traffic? Or how are we going to build back in this corner of the park? Things just didn’t work out because you have to have room for equipment, you have got to have room for parking, you have got to have room for the construction crews and we still have to operate because we can’t shut down for a year.” Middleton said.

“So then we started looking for other property and the county owns that property out along the highway north of town. So we approached them about building out there and they were receptive to that idea, so we decided to move it.”

The project is now a 30,000-square-foot, two-story building that will house more than just the Family Clinic. There will also be a community room, dental care and a drive-up pharmacy.

The new facility will also allow the Family Clinic to consolidate its business offices, which are currently in Niles.

“We are really excited to have room where we can all work in the same place,” Middleton said. “It will be a wonderful addition to the community.”