In early February, Crawford County’s Avita Health Systems will officially unveil its largest investment by far in Richland County with the opening of Avita Ontario Hospital.
You are invited to tour the new facility at the Hospital’s Public Open House, to be held on Thursday evening, February 2 from 4:30 PM to 7:00 PM..
Avita Ontario Hospital is a 197,500 square foot multi-specialty health care facility. Included will be an intensive care unit and a 22 bed emergency department. The hospital is envisioned to produce over 350 jobs and provide services to some 125,000 residents in three counties.
The financing bedrock of the development is a $91 million USDA Rural Development loan, which was announced in November 2015. It remains the largest Community Facilities loan ever obligated in the history of Ohio Rural Development.
One feature of the building, which is a renovation of the former Lazarus Department store at Richland Mall, is retention of the trademark front tower, or “hat,” of the structure. The windowed upper floor has been transformed into a café, and Avita recently posted a sneak peek of its interior on Facebook:
Photo Credit: USDA Deputy Under Secretary Vernita Dore at Avita Ontario loan announcement event – Creative Commons License
