Company to lease former Curry Home 11-04-05




	Observer Reporter Friday, November 4, 2005 Company to lease former Curry Home BY CARA HOST WAYNESBURG- Separation Design Group, a high-tech product development company, could have built a new office building at Ever-Greene Technology Park or elsewhere, but the Waynesburg firm instead will set up shop at the old Curry Memorial Home. "We would hate to put up a new building when there is a perfectly good building right here," said Doug Galbraith, chief executive officer for SDGroup. "It is very high quality. We would not be able to put up a new building and spend the same amount of money." Greene County Commissioners agreed on Thursday to lease the Curry Home to SDGroup. The company will pay $190,000, plus interest, over five years. At the end of that term, SDGroup will have the option to buy the building for a dollar. "It was recently appraised for that amount, considering the remediation work that needs to be done to it," said Farley Toothman, county solicitor. Since the Curry Home closed in 1992, the county has considered a variety of users for the former nursing home. One of those ideas was a small business incubator, which can help startup companies emerge and grow during their first years of existence. The cost of remodeling the Curry Home and removing the asbestos in the building prevented those plans from materializing. Five years ago, Landmark Design Associates estimated it would cost $2 million to convert the Curry Home into an incubator. The county also considered demolishing the building a few years ago, but the high cost, about $200,000, also stalled that idea. The county hopes to obtain a grant from the state Department of Community and Economic Development to pay for the asbestos removal. In September, the county asked Greene County Industrial Development Authority to grant a loan of $200,000 so work to remediate the Curry Home can begin quickly. That money will be reimbursed if the county obtains the DCED grant. SDGroup also expects to spend more than $100,000 on renovations to the south wing of the Curry Home. The building is more than 55,000 square feet, but SDGroup only plans to use an 8,000-square-foot portion initially. The firm has overgrown its current 4,500-square-foot office on Elm Drive, Franklin Township. "It is our intention to fill the entire building, but for now, we're going to focus on the one wing," Galbraith said. The company plans to move into the building by late winter or early spring. SDGroup has been in existence since 2003. It has been developing a variety of inventions that use oxygen enrichment technology. Their devices will be able to separate oxygen from the air and concentrate it. One idea is a portable oxygen concentrator that can replace heavy air tanks for patients who need oxygen therapy. The technology also may be useful in producing more powerful and more energy efficient engines. The company's work has attracted a few grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. SDGroup employs 10 people, five full time and five part time workers. Galbraith said that he plans to make the building more energy efficient, but he will keep the remodeling work to a minimum. Galbraith said that he would like to restore the landmark, not drastically change it. "I want to maintain the character of the building," he said. "It was a big investment for the county to build and I know a lot of people have memories of maybe their parents or grandparents living there." The Curry Home opened in 1931. It was built partially through bequest from Francis Marion Curry, who left a large portion of his estate to build a home for the elderly in Greene County, according to G. Wayne Smith's book, "The History of Greene County Pennsylvania." Print this article Back to News archive