The former McCleery Calendar Factory building. Photo by Sally Y. Hart

Unanimously the Washington County Board of Supervisors voted to not pursue the McCleery Calendar Factory Building as the future location of Washington County Public Health. Supervisor Stan Stoops made the motion to step away from the possible project and said there may be other options, “(I) hope we have the wisdom to understand what it is when it does pop up, and I do believe something is going to pop up, we’re not giving up.”

Supervisor Chairman Richard Young said the objection he heard most from constituents was the location. The building is located at the intersection of East 3rd Street and North 7th Avenue, six blocks from Central Park.

Hobart Historic Restoration (HHR) met with the supervisors and the Board of Health on December 20th and presented their history of rehabilitating historic buildings in eastern Iowa and western Illinois. HHR was willing to work with public health to transform the first floor into their space while working with the county on a rent-to-own plan for the whole building, avoiding the need for a bond referendum.

Jim Hobart tells KCII News they will now move forward with making the building residential units and will work with the city.