ROCK HILL, NY — The Center for Discovery (TCFD) has purchased the former Frontier Insurance Headquarters. The building will house a special education academy, a children’s specialty hospital, and the Research Institute for Brain and Body Health, with an expected completion date in 2020.

The first floor of the building will be converted into an education academy, an expansion of TCFD’s existing school program. The academy will allow TCFD to serve at least 42 additional students with complex disabilities from the surrounding communities, including Orange, Rockland and Westchester counties. The school expansion will also feature classrooms and a gymnasium, athletic fields, and paved walking and biking paths.

The building’s second floor will house a new Children’s Specialty Hospital, which will be at the forefront of connecting research and innovation. Currently, there are no short-term inpatient assessment programs in New York State for children with complex developmental disabilities. Improved understanding of underlying physiological, medical and mental health problems will lead to more targeted treatments and interventions, all with the goal of enabling children and adolescents to stay at home, in school and integrated in the community. This sub-acute, short-term hospital is a new model of care that is expected to save the state millions of dollars every year.

The third floor of the building will be converted into a state-of-the-art health research institute. In partnership with leading national and international physicians, research scientists, academic colleagues, and philanthropic partners, the Research Institute for Brain and Body Health (RIBBH) will significantly expand TCFD’s already robust research program.

“Not only do we have years of longitudinal data on a population that no others have studied, but with the addition of RIBBH, we have the capacity to collect a tremendous amount of additional data and apply those learnings across broader spectrums, particularly in the study of complex conditions across the lifespan,” said Dr. Terry Hamlin, associate executive director of TCFD. RIBBH will facilitate pioneering studies to inform interventions, techniques and tools for individuals with autism, complex medical frailties, Alzheimer’s and dementia, and other complex conditions.

“Our overarching goal for this multi-faceted project is to implement groundbreaking new models of care for complex conditions, which can ultimately be replicated throughout New York State and the nation,” said Patrick H. Dollard, president and CEO of The Center for Discovery. “We are grateful to Ira Steingart and the Sullivan County IDA, along with William Rieber and other local officials, for their tremendous leadership and support in moving this project forward.”

William Rieber, supervisor of the Town of Thompson, said, “The Town of Thompson was excited to work with The Center for Discovery in its acquisition of the former Frontier Insurance property. The project will not only create higher-end employment opportunities for Thompson, but also serve children with complex autism, seizure disorders and more. The impact is so positive economically and to our most fragile population. “

“This facility will bring a wide range of economic and community benefits to Sullivan County, providing much-needed services, creating high-quality jobs, improving health outcomes, and bringing back to life a prime commercial property that has gone unused for several years,” added Ira Steingart, Sullivan County legislator and chairman of the Sullivan County IDA. “From the perspective of the IDA, it’s a fantastic project.”