Oak Orchard Health takes down house, awaits expansion in Albion
Photos by Tom Rivers: A green house next to the former Off-Track Betting parlor in Albion was knocked down on Monday. The house is at 321 West Avenue.
ALBION – Oak Orchard Health is taking a step forward with its plans to expand in Albion. The healthcare provider on Monday knocked down a house at 321 West Ave. Oak Orchard, which owns a healthcare center next door, acquired the OTB site and the house last year.
Oak Orchard is planning an expansion in Albion, and is working to secure funding for the project, said Jim Cummings, Oak Orchard CEO.
Oak Orchard Health would like to expand healthcare services in Orleans County, including dental and possibly vision and behavioral health, after acquiring the sites on Route 31 in Albion.
For now, Oak Orchard will have the debris from the house removed, and then will have the site backfilled and seeded, Cummings said.
The former OTB site will be used for Oak Orchard’s maintenance shop and for storage.
“We are presently working with our architect to design the combined expansion and renovation project that we hope to develop,” Cummings said. “As with most significant projects of this type we are also working to develop funding and the timing of the project will obviously be tied to the acquisition of this funding.”
Here is how the house looked last October. The former OTB parlor is in back.
Oak Orchard is a Federally Qualified Health Center. The organization celebrated its 50th anniversary in the community last year. Oak Orchard was originally founded by the University of Rochester in 1966 to provide health care for migrant farmworkers. Oak Orchard has expanded to an integrated health center with services for all community members. Oak Orchard has sites in Albion, Lyndonville, Brockport, Warsaw and Hornell, as well as a mobile dental unit.
