The project to turn the former Lumberton Citizens Hospital into a center for military veterans is still in the works with the recent $6,505 purchase by Lumberton resident Joshua Martinez of the heliport next to the facility off of West 10th Street.
The purchase of the heliport – previously owned by the city – was recently approved by Lumberton officials. Martinez – who purchased the building with his mother about six months ago – plans to use the heliport for storage and workspace while the building is renovated.
“The (former) hospital itself, the lot ends right at the edge of the hospital on that left side, so that little asphalt spot on the hill is all part of that,” Martinez said. “Obviously, there’s no room to lay down construction materials or set up an outdoor area, so that’s what I'm going to use it for.
“I wanted to get that piece of property so we’d have room to work around the building. There’s just no space behind or in front of that building, or on the other side, to lay down any kind of construction materials, Dumpsters, containers, building materials; there’s nothing.”
The Martinezes, along with a few other Lumberton residents, purchased the former hospital from the city with the goal of housing an unnamed nonprofit organization aimed at providing services to veterans, including food, shelter and fellowship.
Eventually, the family plans to use the facility to house homeless veterans. However, the complete project may take quite some time as Martinez estimates it will cost approximately $2 million to renovate the building, which has sat abandoned and neglected for several years.
“The cheapest quote the city had to tear that building down was $50,000,” he said. “It’s a major renovation; that building is toast. The electric is completely gone, the roof has leak issues, and the inside of it’s been completely vandalized; it’s going to cost $30,000 just to put the glass back in it.
“It’s a mess; it’s been neglected for 30 years. The last tenant that was in it was the rural health initiative clinic that’s now next door, and I think they moved that in the mid-1990s. Ever since then, it’s sat. All the copper piping and water lines were stolen; the place was gutted, so it’s just going to take a lot of time and a lot of money.”
Unless a big donation or contribution comes through in the near future, Martinez expects it will take from three to five years to completely renovate the building to the point it can be used for housing. However, the facility could still offer some services in the meantime.
“The plan was to start by getting the front section of the building done to where veterans could come there for activities, be a part of it, chip in on it; that’s not three to five years out,” Martinez said. “But to be completely done – where it’s providing assisted living to veterans that are getting out of programs such as VA, rehab or mental health facilities – I’d say it’s three to five years.
“That’s depending on what we can get donated in the sense of construction materials and whatever needs to be done.”
A haunted house fundraiser was held near Halloween to help with the project, although the COVID-19 pandemic – among other setbacks – put a hamper on that event.
“We were right slap in the middle of COVID, and then we had a hurricane on top of it, so it didn’t do that well,” Martinez said. “(Fundraising) hasn’t turned enough yet, so it’s going to take a lot of time and a lot of money to redo that building.
“It’s not a question of if we’re doing it, but a lot of the veterans and some of the other people that are going to be involved in it are older, and they can’t do fundraisers right now because they’re afraid of getting sick. It’s happening; it’s just on hold. It’s just not in the best interest of the community to assemble people for fundraisers and volunteer construction; you’ve got a health crisis going."
Martinez and others also are looking for other endeavors outside of fundraising, including grant opportunities, to help with the project.
“South Mississippi is hurting right now, and everybody’s businesses are hurting,” Martinez said. “It’s not like the public has overwhelming money in their pocket right now to support such a project.”
Despite the major work needed at the former hospital building, Martinez said he and his mother chose that site because of its history and what it means to the residents of Lumberton.
“Realistically, the money that has to be put into it, it’s got to be a nonprofit to go in that building,” he said. “There’s no way to redo that as an investment for profit and have it make sense. But the historical aspect of the building makes it worth it, in my opinion.”
