Former Funeral Home Reinvented as Community Healthcare Center

Location is critical for wellness facilities like Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center. So, when a former funeral home became available, architecture, art and advisory firm Svigals + Partners took on the challenge of converting the building into an inviting healthcare setting for the community that also meets the stringent requirements to be a Federally Qualified Health Center.

“The West Haven Clinic is the latest enterprise in our ongoing collaborations with the Cornell Scott-Hill Center, resulting in at least eight new or updated healthcare service locations,” says architect and partner at Svigals + Partners, Doug Lovegren, AIA. “We believe deeply in the center’s commitment to making healthcare accessible to the underserved and to bringing multiple services under one roof.”

Lovegren’s team worked with their client to identify a viable site that would replace an older clinical space they had outgrown. Meeting space requirements for the planned service offerings – centrally located, and on a local bus route – had some challenges.

The project team set out to reinvent the structure, making it ready for providing medical care, including pediatric and behavioral healthcare. The architects removed the faux-mansard roof applique, covered the brick with a light-colored stucco that features a subtle textural pattern, and erected a new canopy over the entrance finished in steel and wood.

The waiting room adds to the arrival experience: Glazed walls and doors let sunlight stream in, which creates an airy, spacious feel when combined with LED lighting, wood-look flooring, and a glass screen wall with a foliage-inspired etching.

Inside, the full-gut renovation splits the 10,000-square-foot program by floors: At street level, visitors access medical and dental offices, while behavioral health programs are located in the newly refinished basement, which also contains an employee breakroom. The architects incorporated a new egress solution for the basement to ensure compliance with safety codes and installed a lift between floors for full accessibility.

Editor’s Note: Primrose Co. Inc. served as general contractor for this project.