How A Mental Health Center Finds Home

MHCGM 9/29/2017

Partnerships that Build Community

More often than not, sunlight illuminates the marble atrium of 2 Wall Street, new home to The Mental Health Center of Greater Manchester. But when it rains, it is guests of the building who enliven the 42,500 square feet of space, chatting away, riding up and down elevators to visit the many businesses there.

“It’s a perfect match for The Center,” says MHCGM President/CEO Bill Rider. “In the heart of downtown Manchester, ample parking, improved access for clients—I can’t image a better location.”

Though as perfect as 2 Wall Street may be, the match may never have occurred were it not for Brady Sullivan Properties, Arthur Sullivan in particular, a friend of The Mental Health Center whose diligence and flexibility lead to MHCGM acquiring the space. “16 years ago he took a chance on us,” says Rider. “And through the years he not only listened to our needs but also helped us find solutions.”

The MHCGM-Brady Sullivan partnership dates back to 2000, when The Center combined its Bedford Counseling Associates and Child & Adolescents programs onto a single floor of the 1228 Elm Street building. Having reconfigured the space to meet MHCGM specifications, Brady Sullivan Properties executed a series of generous leasing agreements that allowed The Center to pursue eventual ownership of a suitable property. After careful consideration, and many years of searching, MHCGM’s Board of Directors approved the purchase of 2 Wall Street from Brady Sullivan Properties as an effort to maintain long-term financial sustainability while providing guests of MHCGM with a functional, centrally located space to visit.

“It is our mission to empower individuals to achieve recovery and promote personal and community wellness through accessible mental health care. To do that, we must provide a positive, socially inclusive space for clients,” say Rider.

And Rider is not alone in his desire to furnish nourishing, user-friendly locales; the Psychology of Architecture is well rooted in evidence-based research. As reported by Michael Bond of the BBC, “buildings and cities can affect our mood and well-being … specialized cells in the hippocampal region of our brains are attuned to the geometry and arrangement of the spaces we inhabit.”

On Monday, July 31^st, 2017, The Mental Health Center took meaningful steps toward providing a supportive environment for clients with the purchase of 2 Wall Street. It must be said, however, that providing a positive space for those facing mental and behavioral health challenges would never have happened without the expertise and goodwill of Brady Sullivan Properties, who is also a Presenting Sponsor at MHCGM’s October Annual Benefit for Mental Health. It’s partnerships like this one that make our community a great place to call home.

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