The old 15th Street School is undergoing renovation, making way for the Pediatric Center for Excellence that will be opened largely with $1.2 million in federal economic stimulus funds.

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The new center is being built by the Chiricahua Community Health Centers.

The center construction is one week ahead of schedule, and while there have been a few bumps in the road, construction has moved along smoothly. Most of the work right now is demolition, according to Jennifer “Ginger” Ryan, the chief executive officer and founder of Chiricahua Community Health Centers Inc.,

The roof and interior demolition is complete, and he exterior demolition was to be completed last week.

One of the initial concerns had been site drainage, but the water runoff will be captured onsite and then reused for irrigation as part of the center’s policy to be eco-friendly.

Construction started at the beginning of July, and is expected to be completed by February 5.

The roof trusses are already on site and should be installed this week or next, Ryan said.

Tunneling out

Ryan said there have been surprises during the construction, the biggest being a tunnel.

“When we pulled up the flooring in what had been the principal’s office, we found a six foot by six foot by 30 foot deep hole. We didn’t know what it was or where it led,” she said.

They contacted a septic tank company to go down and inspect the hole using a camera. They found that one side tunnel had collapsed.

“After a lot of wringing of hands about what this would do to the project, we found out the hole was originally a well for the Calvary Encampment, which was on that site. The water table has dropped since then and there is no longer a worry.”

She said the construction site has become a tourist spot. “People stop and look outside in their cars at the construction,” she said.

Maintaining structure

“We are making every effort to restore the school to its original exterior appearance as possible,” Ryan said.

“While we’re going to work to maintain the exterior appearance, the interior will be completely remodeled to house pediatric exam rooms, pediatrician offices, a therapy play room and visiting specialists’ offices.”

Once the facility is completed, Chiricahua plans to bring top medical specialists to Douglas so children can get the health care they need without having to travel to Tucson or Phoenix.

She said the Pediatric Center of Excellence would:

√ Provide the highest quality health services by pediatric-trained professionals for all children - including children with special health care needs.

√ Provide quality space for pediatric specialist to work in Douglas, rather than having to have patients drive as much as 125 miles for an appointment.

√ A state-of-the-art Therapy/Play Room will be available for developmental play activities under the supervision of a professional. The room would also allow enhanced physical, occupational and speech therapy locally.

In addition, the facility will create an additional 29 full-time jobs -- and keep even more health care in Douglas.

Site history

The old 15th Street School had been vacant for more than 15 years prior to the construction.

The 15th Street Elementary School was constructed in 1905 and has been unoccupied since 1996 when it was determined by the Douglas Unified School District’s architect to be in need of extensive repairs and renovations exceeding in excess of $1.1 million. Furthermore, it was also determined that the existing site is not of adequate size, and thereby unusable as a school site.