OBSERVER file photo The former Lakeshore Hospital was to be purchased by Northeast Medical, the company announced in June.

Plans for a 100-plus bed behavioral and mental health facility at the former Lakeshore Hospital in Irving remain quiet since the announcement was made at the start of last summer. Numerous calls and emails to Relentless Awareness, the public relations firm in Albany handling the project, have gone unanswered in recent months.

Northeast Medical, which goes by NE Med, announced on June 20 it was in contract to purchase the location that has been closed since 2020. “Our goal is to leverage as much of the existing infrastructure as possible, renovating the facility to meet pressing local mental health needs, including addiction treatment and support,” said Joe Bonilla, director of external relations for NE Med. “We are currently assembling our executive team and seeking to identify additional uses within the behavioral and mental health categories.”

On its website, Northeast Medical says it vows to “deliver attractive, risk-adjusted returns by investing in quality healthcare properties. We target properties operated by profitable healthcare systems or physician groups that are at the forefront of delivering needed care in their communities.”

Pending approvals, construction was expected to begin shortly thereafter. In the press release issued in the summer, the project was seen as a significant step forward in addressing the mental health care gap in the Buffalo and Chautauqua County region.

“Particularly important is the fact that this new medical center will restore the mental health services that the area lost when Lakeshore closed,” state Sen. George Borrello, R-Sunset Bay, said in June. “With our population’s mental health and addiction problems skyrocketing, the need for a center like this in our rural community is enormous. Lives will be saved here, and hope restored.”

Last month, Hanover officials said they also have heard little since the announcement was made. “We don’t have any idea what the hospital is going to be doing. I’m hoping to find that out in the near future,” Hanover Town Supervisor Lou Pelletter said in response to comments from the public at a recent meeting.

The period of time dedicated to “due diligence” has been extended, with the town hopeful that more information will be provided by the new year. As of mid-November, the town is of the belief that plans for a mental health and rehabilitation center are still in the works.

“I’m assuming something is going to happen at the hospital, one way or another,” Pelletter said.

Staff writer Braden Carmen contributed to this report.