By RICHARD DYMOND - rdymond@bradenton.com
LAKEWOOD RANCH - Seven months ago, The Wellness Community broke ground on its new $8.2 million healing facility in Lakewood Ranch, called, appropriately enough, Building Hope, because it administers spirited support to anyone with cancer.
The plan was for The Wellness Community to sell its building on Clark Road in Sarasota and move into a new 11,200-square-foot "green" building built by Willis Smith Construction late this summer.
The building would sit on five acres at 5481 Communications Parkway and include 2.2 acres of gardens.
But due to a slowdown in donations, construction hasn't started, said Jay Lockaby, executive director of The Wellness Community.
The project needs $40,000 to meet Harris Private Bank of Chicago's cash-on-hand requirement of $1.85 million so a bond can be issued to start construction, Lockaby said Wednesday.
"We could be operational in a year," Lockaby said. "We hit a wall. We had great success leading into last winter. We raised $2.5 million from last March to November. Since that time, it's been thin."
Between cash-in-hand, pledges and the anticipated value of its Clark Road headquarters, The Wellness Center has about $6 million and needs about $2.2 million to finish the project, Lockaby added.