LAKEPORT, Calif. – Hospice Services of Lake County is preparing to move forward on the project to renovate a property it purchased last year to be its headquarters.

Hospice Services, which has served the community since 1979, provides medical, emotional and spiritual care to persons with serious illnesses in their homes, as well as support for impacted families.

Last December, the organization purchased the former Calvary Baptist Church location to be its headquarters facility.

The 4.5-acre property is located at 1862 Parallel Drive in Lakeport.

The new location includes a 5,700-square-foot main building, a 1,600-square-foot residence and a garage.

The main building will be remodeled and expanded to 6,500 square feet to house the organization’s administrative and clinical staffs.

Hospice Services Executive Director Anja Koot said it's hoped that the project will begin by month's end.

Koot said the organization is committed to using local consultants, contractors, subcontractors and suppliers for the project, and intends to obtain financing for the project through a local bank.

She said they also will follow green building procedures and recycle usable materials and debris.

Following a review of submitted bids, the Hospice Services Board of Directors selected Lakeport-based Mitchell Construction for the project, which is expected to take six months to complete, she said.

At its June 12 meeting, the Lakeport Planning Commission approved the organization’s remodel plans.

Lakeport Planning Services Manager Andrew Britton said the commission eliminated a few conditions of approval, including a last-minute proposal to add a Lake Transit Authority bus stop.

Britton said that after hearing testimony at the well-attended meeting, the commission determined that a bus stop wasn’t warranted based on Hospice Services’ intended use of the property.

Hospice Services currently is headquartered at a 3,300-square-foot building on S. Main Street in Lakeport.

Because of the increased demand for services, Hospice Services has outgrown its current space, Koot said.

“We’ve been looking to expand for a number of years because our daily patient load has doubled since 2009,” said Koot.

Koot said Hospice Services also rents additional offices for part of its administrative staff in a separate location in Lakeport.

For more information about hospice care, call 707-263-6222 or visit www.lakecountyhospice.org .

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