Local officials are hoping to secure federal stimulus money to jump-start the development of a complex that would bring more dining, housing and shopping options to North Waco.

Family Health Center is at the heart of the project, because it owns land at Colcord Avenue and North 18th Street where the complex would be located. The center would donate the land and apply for the federal funds.

But a host of other community organizations are involved in the effort. Officials from those groups are hoping it will be a major step forward in reinvigorating a neighborhood that was devastated after Providence Health Center moved two decades ago.

Plans for the complex call for three buildings. One would be owned and operated by Family Health. It serves the community’s poor and uninsured at sites throughout the county, with its headquarters next to the land.

The top two floors of that building would be occupied by a medical and dental clinic run by the center, said chief financial and operating officer Allen Patterson.

The bottom floor would be reserved for health-related retail, he said.

Options being pursued include a fitness center and a store to sell healthy foods. Right now, the only places people can buy food in the neighborhood are convenience stores, he said.

The other two buildings — which Family Health would like someone else to own, or at least operate — would each be four stories tall. The top three floors would be apartments and condominiums, Patterson said, with some being leased and some being sold.

The lower levels would be reserved for “niche restaurants,” he said.

The twist for the development is that it would offer substantial discounts to attract businesses and customers.

With the housing, for example, discounts would be offered to law enforcement officers, firefighters and employees of the city of Waco, McLennan County and the Family Health Center. Officials have not nailed down how much the discount would be, but it would be “substantial,” Patterson said.

Similarly, Family Health would ask the food store and fitness center to give discounts to those groups, he said.

The discounts would be made possible through a package of incentives, Patterson said. To attract investors to develop and operate the two nonmedical buildings, the center plans not only to give away the land but also may act as a general contractor for free, he said.

For businesses, rents would be substantially below market rates, Patterson said.

One hurdle in redeveloping the area has been getting businesses to risk opening there, he said. And the lack of businesses has given people no motivation to settle in the neighborhood, he said.

“We want to bring more traffic in,” Patterson said. “What we’re trying to do is . . . make it a place where people will want to come.”

The overall cost of the complex is projected to be $17 million, he said. Family Health is hoping to get $4.5 million to $5 million in federal stimulus funds to pay for its building.

Officials with the center are optimistic about the project’s chances. It has strong support from the community, Patterson said.

Also, officials have been planning for the redevelopment of the area for a long time, which should give the local center an edge, he said.

Efforts date back about six years, when the old hospital building fell into disuse. Providence moved its hospital to State Highway 6 in 1989 but operated a long-term care facility in the building until 2003.

After that, Providence began looking for alternative uses for the property. Eventually, it settled on the idea of affordable housing for low-income seniors and recruited a company to build such apartments.

To make room for the units, the hospital paid nearly $2 million to have the old hospital demolished and clean up the debris.

The 54-unit senior apartments, called the Brook Oaks Senior Residences, used only 1.5 acres of the 6-acre site. When Family Health purchased the remaining land in January, it kicked off a new round of meetings with community stakeholders, Patterson said.

Family Health’s interest in the project is twofold, he said. It wants to help bolster the neighborhood’s and city’s economy. But it also knows having such a complex next door would be great for recruiting employees and medical school residents, he said.

If the center does not receive the federal funds, it still plans to work toward the project, Patterson said. But it will likely take a lot longer, he said.

Robert Jackson, president of the Brook Oaks Neighborhood Association, said he hopes the project gets off the ground soon.

The idea fits perfectly with the association’s desire to draw middle-income residents into the neighborhood, he said.

“If you can get firefighters, police and people who traditionally live outside the city limits to come back into the inner city, that’s a good thing for everybody,” Jackson said.

Jimmy Dorrell, executive director of Mission Waco, also is excited.

The organization has a strong presence in the neighborhood, including a cafe it opened 3 1/2 years ago after it couldn’t find an established restaurant willing to open there.

But Dorrell said he thinks the climate is different now. There have been a lot of positive changes in the neighborhood, he said, such as the opening of the senior apartments. That momentum, combined with the project’s innovation, makes him hopeful, he said.

“We’re watching the community have a sense of renewal and hope that people have never had since I’ve been here,” Dorrell said.

cculp@wacotrib.com

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