MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. —
Central State Hospital in Milledgeville was once the largest psychiatric hospital in the country and the second largest in the world. Now, it's named one of the 10 "Places in Peril" by the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation.
Since 2012, the Central State Hospital Local Redevelopment Authority has been working to re-purpose some of the 200 buildings on the 2,000-acre campus.
But because of the scale of the campus and the investment needed to restore it, revitalization is a daunting task, the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation says.
This week, the trust named the hospital one of 10 "Places in Peril."
In a release the trust said, "an embrace of the historic architecture and utilization of the economic incentives available to preservation projects could provide further avenues to redevelopment.”
Mike Couch, the executive director of the hospital's Local Redevelopment Authority, says this means opportunity.
"The property has tremendous value to create jobs. We've proved that in three years. There's 700 jobs here in the past three years. There's $150 million worth of construction. We have to take the next logical step now," Couch said.
So far, the authority has helped to bring 22 companies to the hospital campus, and they plan to bring even more. Their plan is to bring back the economic development the campus was known for.
"This goes back to 1842. This was the economic engine, the hub, it was everything that was Milledgeville until the late 1960s," Couch said.
Amy Wright, the executive director of Georgia’s Old Capitol Heritage Center, said at one point, Central State Hospital employed as many as 6,000 people and had 13,000 patients.
"If we’re bringing back just half of those jobs. We’re doing what we should be doing," Couch said.
In addition to economic growth, they want to maintain the character of the campus.
After the hospital was added to the list, the authority met to look further into preservation and adding some buildings to the National Historic Registry.
"What’s going to be the best way to move forward as far as placing the campus on the National Historic Registry versus placing some buildings or areas on the historic registry. Each of those have very different implications when it comes to tax credits, redevelopment options," said Milledgeville City Councilman Walter Reynolds.
The authority is considering adding the Depot, which is being re-purposed as the Old Capitol Heritage Center and will hold exhibits highlighting Central Georgia’s history including exhibits on the history of Native Americans, the creation of Baldwin County, and remembering Central State Hospital.
The authority has also considered tearing down some buildings.
"We’re really having the conversation on buildings that just can’t be salvaged. Could we preserve a facades perhaps, could we build behind old -- we’re not at a place to make a final decision," Couch said.
Couch said they’re calling in the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation to help them make that decision. He also said they're planning to bring 500 more jobs to the campus over the next 16 months, and one of their focuses will be redeveloping the Depot over the next year.
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