An Iowa-based firm recently purchased a former senior living facility in Castle Hayne for $5.9 million, with plans to convert the building into an addiction treatment center.

An entity tied to Nelson Construction & Development, a commercial real estate developer based in Des Moines, Iowa, purchased the nearly 24,000-square-foot building, which formerly housed Castle Creek Memory Care, and the surrounding 7.4-acre site at 4724 Castle Hayne Road last week, according to deed records.

Brian Schall, the company’s director of development, said they’re working on plans to convert the building into a 54-bed inpatient treatment center. Once complete, this will be the sixth senior living facility the company has converted into a treatment center, according to Schall.

“This is the absolute perfect property for us,” he said. “The layout of the building is exactly what we're looking for, because what we're providing (is) detox and 30-day inpatient treatment for drug and alcohol addiction, and so there’s already the resident units, there's already staff offices, activity rooms, a commercial kitchen.”

Nelson Construction & Development will partner with Ascension Recovery Services to operate the facility, which will offer a range of services, including medication-assisted treatment, medical detox and counseling. 

In addition to treatment centers, Nelson Construction & Development also specializes in multifamily housing in the Des Moines area and luxury senior housing in cities across the Midwest, Schall said. The firm expanded into treatment centers a few years ago when Schall joined the team. He said he’s had several friends and family members who have had to travel out of state to get treatment.

“(It’s) really a passion of mine to develop these facilities to keep people close to home, so they're not having to travel very far away to go get the help they need,” Schall said.

The company recently wrapped up designs on the renovations that will convert the existing building in Castle Hayne into a treatment center. Schall said they plan to invest $3 million into building renovations, which should take about four months to complete. Later this year, they’ll also begin looking for a local executive director and business development director to lead the center.

Schall said he’s hoping the facility will be open by the beginning of 2026. The company also has another facility in the works in the Raleigh area that should open around the same time, he added.

In addition to North Carolina, Nelson Construction & Development has treatment facilities open or planned in Iowa, Indiana and Minnesota. When the company decided to expand its reach into North Carolina, the Wilmington area was one of its target markets, Schall said, alongside Raleigh and Greensboro.

“Unfortunately, there's a crazy amount of demand for people that need these services and just a lack of facilities,” he said.

The treatment center will also offer long-term recovery planning for patients, like helping them find jobs or housing after treatment. Schall said he hopes those services and future phases of the facility will improve the success rate of patients once they leave treatment.

“We'll look to add outpatient and recovery housing as our next phase,” he said, “once we get this facility open.”