ROCHESTER — A southeast Rochester hotel is being eyed for conversion into a 94-bed substance-abuse treatment facility.

Denver-based Sunshine Behavioral Health is proposing to transition Country Inn and Suites, 77 Wood Lake Drive, into a privately owned facility designed to provide care for people struggling with substance abuse and mental health disorders.

“This is our model,” Sunshine Chief Financial Officer Brandon Turner said. “We buy hotels and repurpose them for this use.”

The proposed facility would be Sunshine Behavioral Health’s first in Minnesota. The provider’s closest facility is in Dodgeville, Wisconsin, and it operates others in Illinois, California, Colorado and Texas.

With each facility drawing clients from a roughly 200-mile radius, Turner said the company has been looking for opportunities in Minnesota for several years, and Rochester appears to be an ideal fit with the city already established as a hub for health care.

Sunshine Behavioral Health facilities offer comprehensive inpatient rehab options, with patients living on site for an average of 30 days, according to Turner.

While the primary focus is on substance abuse treatment, he said underlying mental health concerns are also treated, with the majority of clients reaching out to the facility to seek help and support.

In order to make the transition at the Country Inn and Suites site, Sunshine Behavioral Health must request a zoning change for the property, which is currently dedicated for light-industrial use. A proposed change to mixed-use general zoning would allow added flexibility for establishing the new proposed use on the 2.7-acre property.

Turner said an official request for the change is expected to be submitted within 30 days, and the final Rochester City Council decision will determine whether the company moves forward with purchasing the property and seeking required state licensing.

The property was last purchased in 2011 by Rochester MN South Lodging LLC for nearly $4.3 million.

Sunshine Behavioral Health’s proposed transition is expected to maintain or enhance the overall aesthetics of the property. The goal is to keep the existing footprint of the 104-room hotel hotel, which has been part of the Wood Lake neighborhood since 2000.

Turner said the primary interior change will be the addition of a commercial kitchen to serve patients. Changes to the grounds are expected to reduce parking spaces to create added recreational areas for patients.

Converting the 104-room hotel to a 94-bed residential behavioral health treatment facility is also expected to reduce traffic along Wood Lake Drive, according to comparisons prepared for a neighborhood meeting held Friday evening.

Turner said timelines for potentially opening the facility are tentative, since a variety of approvals are required, but things could move quickly once the local and state requirements are met.

“We’d like to be open by the middle of next year,” he said.

Randy Petersen joined the Post Bulletin in 2014 and became the local government reporter in 2017. An Elkton native, he’s worked for a variety of Midwest papers as reporter, photographer and editor since graduating from Winona State University in 1996. Readers can reach Randy at 507-285-7709 or [email protected].