The former site of a men’s transitional housing complex is set to be transformed into a treatment center for men and women.

Franklin, Tennessee-based Landmark Recovery soon plans to close on the purchase of the building at 4990 N. U.S. 31 just south of Seymour.

Prior to opening in the fall of 2023, the building will undergo significant renovations, and the facility, which will be called Praxis of Seymour by Landmark Recovery, will have 80 beds.

“We have chosen this specific site as it is in line with the type of properties we look for — traditionally those that have had a previous life as subacute medical facility, assisted living or nursing home,” said Josh Hatch, chief growth officer for Landmark Recovery. “The layout is easily adapted for our use, allowing us to keep construction costs down, thus ultimately maintaining a fair fee schedule for our patients.”

Hatch said company officials have been working with local contractors and their subcontractors and expect renovations to begin by the first quarter of 2023 and anticipate construction to be ongoing for eight to 10 months.

The building will receive full mechanical, electrical and plumbing upgrades, a state-of-the-art controlled access and video monitoring system, a 6-foot privacy fence to the west of the building, a full commercial kitchen and dining room, upgraded and finished throughout and parking lot and landscaping work.

“We intend to expend about $3 million on the renovations,” Hatch said.

When complete, men and women ages 18 and up in Indiana who are covered by Medicaid will be able to receive such services as medical detox, residential treatment, intensive outpatient, medication-assisted treatment and post-alumni programs to help those in recovery.

“Our goal in opening this facility is to help save lives and make addiction treatment more accessible to those who need it,” said Matt Boyle, chief executive officer of Landmark Recovery. “The new treatment facility can annually help more than 900 patients find recovery from addiction.”

Landmark Recovery currently operates 13 addiction treatment facilities across nine states, employing more than 1,000 people, said Chrycilis Perry, public relations specialist on behalf of the company.

It operates five treatment programs in Indiana, including Landmark Recovery of Indianapolis, which accepts private insurance; Praxis facilities in Mishawaka, Carmel and Bluffton, which serve those with Medicaid; and an office-based opioid treatment clinic in Indianapolis.

Landmark plans to open more than 35 additional treatment centers by 2025 while expanding outpatient services and recovery support, Perry said. Landmark now serves communities in Colorado, Indiana, Kentucky, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Virginia.

The Seymour building started out as a senior living facility, and once that closed, it remained vacant until May 23, 2016, when Todd’s Place opened to help men overcome addictions and turn their lives around. That closed in 2019.

Perry said the setup of the building with multiple bedrooms, a kitchen, dining rooms and nursing stations is ideal for a recovery space.

“Our first criteria for facility expansion are based on the prevalence of addiction of a geographical service area, the proximity to a major city (within two hours ideally) and the treatment options available for those suffering from addiction,” Perry said.

The next criteria are related to the existing adjacent properties.

“We want to make sure that our business will not unduly impact traffic and that the building is self-contained so as not to interface with surrounding areas,” Perry said. “While our patients and staff spend most of the time indoors, we do have a secure and supervised area for outside activities. Since patients are not allowed to bring their own vehicles and visitors are by appointment and escorted into our facility, we maintain the highest level of safety.”

Landmark Recovery is committed to destroying barriers to treatment. That is why it accepts patients with a dual diagnosis of mental disorders, Perry said.

“Our inpatient services are centered around equipping patients with the skills necessary to return to their communities with the resources to live a life of recovery,” Perry said. “Landmark Recovery takes an individualized approach to addiction recovery. We provide twice the number of one-on-one therapy hours compared to the national average and employ a passionate staff of master’s-level clinicians.”

Landmark has crafted a clinical curriculum consisting of group, individual and family interventions that help an individual begin to understand the dynamics and interplay between substance use disorders and other co-occurring mental health conditions, such as trauma, anxiety and depression, while also providing the education and practice experience necessary to sustain recovery post-treatment, Perry said.

“To date, we have saved more than 13,560 people from addiction and continue to serve hundreds more through our alumni program that connects Landmark graduates to local resources and support groups,” Perry said.

According to the 2019-2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 745,000 Indiana residents have a substance use disorder, and 676,000 (or more than 90%) of these people said they were not getting the treatment they needed.

Between April 2021 and April 2022, drug overdose deaths in Indiana increased by 11%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.