Carl Glassman / Tribeca Trib
Hazelden, a large-scale addiction treatment provider, hopes to turn the building at 283 W. Broadway (center) into a post-recovery dormitory for college-age men and women who plan to reenter school.
A six-story building in north Tribeca, once envisioned for posh loft apartments, is slated to become housing for college-age men and women recovering from drug and alcohol addiction.
Hazelden, one of the world’s largest addiction treatment providers, is close to finalizing its purchase of the building at 283 West Broadway, according to the nonprofit company’s president and CEO, Mark Mishek. If the deal goes through, Mishek said the building would be a residence for young people in a “post-recovery period,” most of whom hope to return to college.
The company now runs a 10,000-square-foot facility for adult treatment and recovery in Chelsea.
“This particular program is for the college-age population that has gotten themselves sober and now needs to begin getting back into school, and they need a safe environment in which to do that,” Mishek said in a telephone interview with the Trib. “There’s a high danger of relapse for that population without it.”
A representative from Hazelden will present the plan this month to Community Board 1’s Tribeca Committee. “I’m confident we’re going to have a good dialogue,” Mishek said.
The meeting takes place Wednesday, Jan. 12, at 6 p.m. at 49-51 Chambers St., room 709.
How neighborhood residents react to Hazelden’s plan remains to be seen. Enzo Pezone, a co-owner of Pepolino Restaurant next door to the proposed center, said he has serious concerns about the center’s ability to coexist with its neighbors, but will reserve judgement until after Community Board 1 vets the proposal this month.
“I don’t really feel comfortable with these people being next to me,” Pezone said. “If I had a choice, I would say no.”
“It can be a very, very positive thing,” Bray said. “There are no facilities quite like this in New York City.”
Mishek and Bray said they are prepared to dispel concerns frequently raised when new alcohol and drug treatment centers are proposed. One misimpression, Bray said, is that recovering students are more likely to relapse in an urban environment than in a controlled, remote setting. In fact, she said, the company’s research shows the opposite.
“Our program is designed to operate in concert with the community,” Bray said. “We find it’s much more useful to educate the kids on how to live a sober lifestyle in the real world. We find the outcomes are better.”
“Any program where you surround patients in a bubble is completely doomed to failure,” Mishek added.
The 95-year-old building, nestled in a largely commercial block, had been slated for conversion into luxury condominiums by the Dynamic Group until the project fell into bankruptcy.
To open the center, Hazelden will need approval from the state’s Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services. A spokeswoman for the agency said the company had met with staff members from the New York City field office, but had not yet submitted an application for the project.
By the summer, Hazelden hopes to use the second-through-sixth floors to house up to 30 residents, at a maximum of six per floor. Bray said the ground floor and basement would be used for meeting rooms, storage and “a very small area for treatment programs.”
Representatives of Hazelden declined to comment on the purchase price of the building. The Dynamic Group could not be reached for comment.
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