by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Downtown’s inevitable growth and evolution may make things difficult for The Salvation Army and Volunteers in Medicine in the near future. VIM may have to move and The Salvation Army may feel pressure from Downtown developers to sell some of its core Downtown property.
VIM recently looked into purchasing its building at the corner of Ocean and Duval streets, which it leases from The Salvation Army.
“We inquired about purchasing the building, but they expressed that they are disinclined to sell the building,” said George Ridge, an attorney with Cooper Ridge & Lantinberg and also a member of the board of directors at VIM. “We might have to move.”
Volunteers in Medicine is a group of doctors and nurses, some retired, who provide health care to those who can’t afford it.
“We don’t take any insurance or federal money,” said Dr. Jim Burt, one of VIM’s founders. VIM is funded by private donations and grants.
Ridge stressed that The Salvation Army has been very good to VIM since it opened its doors Sept. 12, 2003. In two-and-a-half years, the clinic has treated nearly 7,000 patients with over 1,700 patients enrolled in the clinic’s practice. Ridge said buying the building from The Salvation Army has not been anything more than friendly conversation and a potential selling price was never discussed.
“It never got to that point,” said Ridge. “We had a few cordial conversations among friends and they indicated they probably don’t want to sell the building. They have invited us to stay and they haven’t asked us to leave.
“They own several pieces of the block and speculation is this area is prime for development. This block is a logical candidate for development.”
The Salvation Army is directly across the street and actually owns several parcels of property in the area. Private owners control the other parcels on the two blocks, both of which are in close proximity to the new Main Library and other new Downtown developments.
Ridge has sought the assistance of City Council President Kevin Hyde. The Lakeland Volunteers in Medicine remodeled an elementary school building which was donated by the City of Lakeland. Ridge said he isn’t looking for a handout from the City, but if a Downtown building with ample parking near a bus line became available, his group would look into it. Otherwise, once The Salvation Army sells, VIM will be forced to look for a new location on their own.
“We will probably have to raise the money privately,” said Ridge. “We have no formal plan right now and we haven’t talked about searching for property or raising money.”
Maj. Jim Seiler said he would only consider selling any of the land The Salvation Army owns if it was a financially sound proposal.
“We certainly hope to stay where we are,” said Seiler. “I would certainly be glad to talk for the right price. We have a board of directors that would have the final say and I have some enormously bright people on our property committee. They are pretty sharp.”
Seiler reiterated Ridge’s assessment of the positive relationship between VIM and the Salvation Army.
“They are good friends,” he said.
The Salvation Army has acquired its property over the years through either purchase or donation. It has also acquired the misdemeanor probation office from the City, a program that generates revenue for The Salvation Army. Seiler said that program is run out of The Salvation Army’s Ocean Street office and isn’t one he’s keen on moving.
“I’m not terribly interested in relocating this office,” said Seiler. “We’ve been running this program for 20 years and it creates surpluses that help fund other programs. I’m not interested in giving that up and I’m not interested in selling any land unless I got a handsome offer.”