The Carle Foundation is in the process of expanding its facilities to include a building in front of the AMC Showplace Mattoon 10.

Kyle Gill, the Mattoon interim city administrator, said the city received the site work plans two months ago and has been working toward the project ever since.

“In the last month, they’ve started the site work,” he said. “We have plans for the building as well.”

Gill said the new facility will be a 31,600 square-foot, one-story building.

“Carle Clinic is a set of doctors,” he said. “They’re in competition with Sarah Bush Lincoln’s family practice.”

The new building will include exam, radiation and procedure rooms, but Gill said it is not a hospital.

“We’re reviewing them for building construction,” he said. “I would say in the next week or two we’ll issue the building permit.”

So far, the reviews have been going well, Gill said.

“The start of building footings will depend on the weather and how cold it gets,” he said.

There is already a Carle Clinic at 200 Lerna Road in Mattoon, but Gill said they are looking to expand, thus the basis for this new building.

“Over the past five years, they’ve looked at adding onto the other building, building around it and even taking the building down, but they’ve finally decided that they need a lot more space,” he said. “They’re going to keep the existing building and have this new building as well.”

Gill said the expansion of the building is because of its success in the area and the need for more space.

The timeline for the completion of the building is not certain, but Gill said they hope to have it done within a year.

“Major construction will start in the spring, and they’ll try to do some work through the winter, but I don’t really see that being too likely with the weather,” he said.

Gill said the Carle Foundation purchased the land originally owned by the Coles County Memorial Airport. 

“It’s a fairly big job, and I doubt they will make a lot of progress over the winter,” he said.

Gill said he expects the new facilities will bring more competition between Carle and Sarah Bush Lincoln Health System.

“Competition’s not always a bad thing,” he said. “Impact-wise, it’s supposed to be a $4 million project, so it will definitely benefit the citizens of Mattoon and Charleston.”

Sean Williams, a spokesperson for the Carle Foundation, said the estimated completion is in Fall 2013.

Robyn Dexter can 

be reached at 581-2812 

or redexter@eiu.edu.