Serenity Park, originally Serenity House, went into foreclosure last year, seven years after the death of its pioneering founder, Joe McQuany.
Now a group of businessmen with an interest in addiction recovery is hoping to reopen and renovate the campus at 2801 W. Roosevelt Road in Little Rock for long-term treatment.
The group’s fundraising goal: $1.3 million to get through the reopening and the first year of operation. The proposed management team is J.G. Regnier, a former program director for Serenity Park and former executive director of Recovery Centers of Arkansas); Lew Block, a real estate broker and former director of the Wolfe Street Foundation; and Steve Weintz, a business consultant who left Little Rock for South Carolina a few years ago.
The new incarnation, Serenity Park Treatment Center Inc. (not yet incorporated), has struck a deal to buy the campus from Bank of Little Rock for $1.475 million. According to Weintz and Block, Little Rock businessman and investor Bill Carlton has agreed to contribute the down payment for the property.
The women’s unit, which opened in 2007 and operated until 2013, is in good condition, so it could be used for long-term (90-120 days) rehab almost immediately. But the men’s unit, which dates to the 1960s, needs about $300,000 worth of repairs to meet code.
Sign up for Daily E-news
