October 19, 2023

Compass Health starts 2nd phase of Everett mental health campus

Renderings from Compass Health/Ankrom Moisan Architects [enlarge]

Compass Health says the new space is designed with providers and clients at top of mind.

Compass Health last week officially broke ground on the $68.5 million second phase of its downtown Everett behavioral health services campus. The 72,000-square-foot building is being built on the campus in the 3300 block of Broadway.

When finished in summer 2025, the facility will have purpose-built space for intensive behavioral health services, including a 16-bed inpatient evaluation and treatment unit, 16-bed crisis triage center, intensive outpatient behavioral health services, and offices for crisis prevention, outreach and community engagement teams.

Compass Health says the new center will alleviate demand on regional resources — including hospitals, law enforcement and community responders — and help individuals avoid jail and emergency department or inpatient stays. It says the facility's crisis triage center will enable ambulance and law enforcement drop-offs, connecting those in crisis to immediate and stabilizing care; and the evaluation and treatment unit will accept direct referrals from local hospitals, and offer acute care in an inpatient setting.

The second phase project team is led by: Lotus Development Partners, development and construction manager; Ankrom Moisan Architects, project architect; BNBuilders, general contractor; KPFF Consulting Engineers, structural; Harmsen, civil engineer; Bush Roed & Hitchings, surveyor; Sider + Byers Associates, mechanical and electrical engineer; Site Workshop, landscape design; RDH, envelope consultant; and RWDI, LEED consultant.

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The new building will have a behavioral health clinic, 16-bed inpatient center and 16-bed crisis triage center.

“This facility represents significant progress toward modernizing our state's behavioral health system and expanding access to quality intensive behavioral health care,” said state Sen. June Robinson, who was at Thursday's groundbreaking ceremony, in a news release. “I applaud Compass Health for leading such an impactful initiative and delivering a solution to some of the most visible challenges facing our communities.”

Compass Health says Robinson was instrumental in securing funding for the project.

A combination of public, private and philanthropic sources have funded the majority of the project's cost. The state kicked in $39.7 million in competitive and direct appropriations, while the city of Everett chipped in $1 million in ARPA funding. Other sources include substantial New Markets Tax Credit Program allocations provided by JP Morgan Chase, Accion Opportunity Fund and the Corporation for Supportive Housing; a loan from Coastal Community Bank; interim financing from Capital Impact Partners, Craft 3 and Nonprofit Finance Fund; and an early seed loan from Primary Care Development Corp.

Compass Health has also raised over 75% of a $14 million capital campaign. This source includes $3 million from the Sunderland Foundation, $2 million in Community Project Funding championed by U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, $1 million from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, $1 million from the Norcliffe Foundation, $700,000 from Premera Blue Cross, and over 30 significant private gifts.

Andy's Place, phase one of the redevelopment, opened in May 2021 and provides 82 units of permanent supportive housing to formerly homeless individuals living with chronic behavioral health challenges. It was designed by Environmental Works and built by BNBuilders.

A third phase will focus on integrating behavioral health services with a primary health care clinic. Compass Health's project website indicates the third phase will construct a 100,000-square-foot building that will also include offices for Compass staff and permanent supportive housing units. It says more information will come at a later date.

Compass says the new center is expected to serve nearly 1,300 clients, and will be instrumental in staff recruitment and retention efforts.

“From the aesthetic layout to the functional design, it has been designed with providers and clients at top of mind, creating a workplace that will attract the mental health professionals needed to meet the growing demand for care,” the release reads.