Coastal Horizons Center recently purchased a new facility on Medical Center Drive for nearly $3 million. 

The medical office at 1414 and 1404 Medical Center Drive will house Coastal Horizons’ Wilmington Health Access for Teens (WHAT) program, according to a release from the nonprofit organization. The new location will open for in-person services and appointments on Aug. 19.

WHAT operates “school-based and school-linked health centers that provide comprehensive primary care, mental health care, psychiatric care and preventative services,” according to the release. The program operates as the “only integrated school-based health care provider in Wilmington” for those ages 6 to 24, the release states.

The program currently operates in a building at 4005 Oleander Drive in Wilmington. The relocation to the larger Medical Center Drive building is in response to the “significant growth” of WHAT’s services. That includes growing the program’s therapy team from 3 to 20 therapists, introducing specialized psychiatric care and adding nutrition services, Coastal Horizons’ Regional Child and Family Services Clinical Director, Cristen Williams, wrote in an email to the Business Journal.

A deed recorded on Aug. 5 shows Coastal Horizons Center Inc. purchased the nearly 9,000-square-foot building on Medical Center Drive from BMT Properties LLC for $2.8 million. The purchase will be funded through money set aside in the state budget and proceeds from the sale of the Oleander Drive facility, which is under contract with an imminent closing, according to Williams.

The new facility will allow WHAT to expand its integrated services and enhance the quality of care it provides, according to WHAT Program Director Amanda Ronne.

“With over 13,000 visits last year, this new space will support our mission to serve even more youth and young adults in the region,” she added. “We look forward to welcoming our patients to our new home.”

Coastal Horizons President and CEO Margaret Weller-Stargell highlighted the new facility’s role in the nonprofit’s continued growth.

“We are thrilled to see Wilmington Health Access for Teens move into a new space that reflects the growth and success of the program,” she stated in the release. “This move not only represents our commitment to serving the youth in our community but also ensures that we can continue to meet the increasing demand for our services.”