Oct. 28—Local business leaders heard from Central State Hospital Local Redevelopment Authority (CSHLRA) Interim Executive Director Walter Reynolds Wednesday.

Reynolds was tabbed as the October guest for the Milledgeville-Baldwin County Chamber of Commerce's monthly Eggs & Issues breakfast speaker series. The Baldwin County native and lifelong resident has held the CSHLRA interim executive director position for 15 months now. It's his job, and that of the authority's nine-member board, to repurpose properties within the former state hospital's 2,200-acre campus by finding economic development partners to purchase or rent the facilities for new uses.

Central State Hospital, once the largest mental health institution in the world, was formed by the state legislature in 1839 and accepted its first patient in 1842. The patient population in the early years sat around 2,000 but exploded after the start of the 20th century. The peak was reached in the 1960s at over 12,000 patients. Decentralization of mental health care took hold in the '60s and into the '70s, so the population dwindled down to about 1,200 in the 2000s, per information presented by Reynolds. The hospital, as many had known it, closed a little over a decade ago.

Reynolds reminded those in attendance though, that Central State Hospital is not officially closed. The Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD) still operates the 180-bed Cook Building on Vinson Highway under the Central State Hospital moniker.

"Basically DBHDD picked up and left the core of the campus, headed south, and reduced the size of their operation," said Reynolds.

Once that was done, the state still had over 2,000 acres of property and more than 200 buildings sitting idle, so the CSHLRA was formed in 2012 with the signing of Georgia House Bill 815. The board is currently made up of Chairman Johnny Grant, Vice Chair Dr. Joycelynn Nelson, Bill Jones, Dr. George Martinez, Calvin McMullen, Owen Pittman, Brian Robinson and Dr. Nolan Stephens.

"These are the faces that make this thing happen," Reynolds said. "These are the board members that show up each and every month for our meetings and help with the major decisions that keep moving this project forward."

Reynolds shared that to date 650 jobs have been created and 200 acres have been placed back on the local tax digest through redevelopment efforts. The authority is currently self-sustaining, able to operate off the sales and rentals of properties around the campus. The interim executive director said CSHLRA has reduced expenses by more than $135,000 due to energy savings and reducing the authority's number of employees since he's the only one now.

"I enjoy the work tremendously, and my board members do a lot to help with the heavy lifting in that, so I cannot thank them enough," he said.

The former mental hospital has been making headlines recently for a couple of reasons.

First, some fencing went up around multiple buildings on the campus earlier this month. The monumental Jones Building, Green Building and Walker Building, all surrounding the pecan grove, are among them. Reynolds stressed that those buildings belong to the state (DBHDD), and not the redevelopment authority. The Union-Recorder learned that the state is removing hazardous materials, such as asbestos, from those buildings. The state's plans beyond that have not been revealed as of yet. Reynolds said he and State Rep. Rick Williams are set to meet with someone from DBHDD in the coming weeks to discuss those buildings' futures.

"My preference would be to save as many as possible, however, living in a historic community like Milledgeville you know that even if there was an unlimited supply of money we couldn't save all of these buildings," Reynolds said. "But I think they deserve the attention necessary to see how many can be preserved, and, if nothing else, to preserve enough of these buildings so we can retain historic preservation tax credits for future development efforts."

Reynolds went on to discuss the other "800-pound gorilla in the room," referencing the Bobby Parham Kitchen facility. A company known as Food Service Partners had moved its food packaging business into the kitchen about two years ago, but filed for bankruptcy in July and ceased operations. Reynolds said it has been his and the CSHLRA board's main focus to find another tenant for that 120,000-square foot space, and one has seemingly been found. Peach State Kitchen, a new endeavor created by longtime professionals in the food packing industry, has its eyes set on the Parham Kitchen now. According to reps from Peach State Kitchen, they will be packaging retail-ready upscale, organic meals. CSHLRA gave Reynolds and the board's real estate committee authorization to move forward with an agreement with the new company. Now both sides must wait for the building to be released from Food Service Partners' bankruptcy court proceedings in Delaware.

"These guys actually came to us with contracts in hand ready to produce for some major national brands," Reynolds said of Peach State Kitchen.

Through the rest of his presentation, Reynolds shared updates on several other properties on the campus. A data center is moving into the old laundry building with its large power capabilities. Georgia Military College purchased the old auditorium just off the pecan grove quad a few years ago and uses it to host events. The Chapel of All Faiths has also become quite the event space for weddings, Georgia College & State University fraternity/sorority initiations, and other community events. Reynolds said the Chapel is booked for almost every weekend between now and the end of 2022.

With a possible new tenant found for the Parham Kitchen, Reynolds said his attention will in early 2023 turn towards campus beautification, namely new lighting for the hospital grounds entrance along Swint Avenue and around the pecan grove.