Community Projects: San Haven
In the early 1900s, the San Haven Tuberculosis Sanitarium near Dunseith began operation, housing and isolating TB patients. By the 1970s, the facility was turned into a state school for the mentally handicapped.
But in 1987 a federal judge ordered that the patients be moved into community environments forcing the closure of San Haven. Hundreds of people lost their job…and an architectural treasure stood empty.
“Governor Sinner asked me…to come up with a reuse plan and what an education that was,” said former economic development director Bill Patrie. But despite the state’s efforts to recruit a new business for the facility, it became clear the project was not economically feasible.
“We started looking at alternate uses of the building itself and eventually we gave up,” said Patrie. “We said our job is to create 400 jobs to replace the 400 jobs that were lost what’s the best way to do that?” The best way as it turns out was to abandon plans to reuse the century old hospital building and concentrate on recruiting and supporting smaller business in surrounding communities.
So although the hospital now stands crumbling, the lessons learned from trying to reuse the facility have created far more than the 400 jobs lost when an outmoded building lost its usefulness.
Not all renovation efforts are successful. Sometimes historic buildings have outlived their usefulness.