WAPAKONETA, Ohio (WLIO) - A brand-new assisted living and nursing home facility could be on the way for Wapakoneta.
Auglaize County Commissioners are currently working with a subsidiary of Vancrest. Vancrest seeks to build a new facility at the former Auglaize Acres property. In 2018, Auglaize County privatized Auglaize Acres selling the facility and bed licenses to J-Dek Investments, and the nursing home operated as ODEM at Auglaize until its April 2024 closure. Following the closure, J-Dek gifted the property back to Auglaize County. Currently, Vancrest wants to purchase the bed licenses from J-Dek, which must be approved by the State of Ohio. Auglaize County is pursuing a state Brownfield Grant for demolition of the property which could pave the way for Vancrest to purchase the acreage from the county.
Auglaize County is pursuing a state Brownfield Grant for demolition of the property.
“If we do get funding under the Brownfield Grant, 75% of it would be funded under the grant. We're expecting a little over a million dollars that would be required for the remediation and the demolition, and if we can get 75% of that covered under the grant, that would be a win for Auglaize County. That would be through a state Brownfield Grant funding, so it would be state level funding in the grant with a 25% local match. And then moving forward, if everything moves forward with the bed sale for the licensed beds for the Vancrest subsidiary, then they could exercise an option agreement to purchase the real estate so just the acreage from the county at $20,000 an acre,” says Erica Preston, Auglaize County Administrator.
Preston and commissioners also say the new facility could create around 87 full-time jobs and would provide more housing opportunities in the community.
