In July 2022 Ramsey County closed its Care Center nursing home and has been seeking a buyer for the building. Under a separate action, the County has requested City approval for a lot division to separate the Care Center building from the rest of the remaining county facilities in that area.  The County has agreed to a purchase agreement with Nuway Alliance which would operate an adult residential treatment facility in this building. In this building, Nuway would serve recovering alcoholics and addicts whose “substance use disorder is in a remissive state.” The length of stay for clients in this inpatient program varies based on individual clinical necessity and averages 31 days. The treatment program includes individual counseling, group meetings, case management, and peer support.

The building at 2000 White Bear Avenue was constructed in 1980 as a nursing home and was operated as such by Ramsey County until July 2022. When it closed, the nursing home was licensed for up to 146 residents. Nuway expects that the initial number of clients in its Maplewood location will be approximately 60, and anticipate increasing the capacity to 120 clients, over four years. Building permits will be required for all interior work that will be needed to convert this facility.

To move forward, the applicant needs city council approval of a comprehensive plan, rezoning, and a conditional use permit. The current land use and zoning designations are for public-use facilities and need to be amended to allow private use of the building. Conditional use permits are required for all state-licensed residential programs.