The Dowagiac City Council authorized an installment purchase agreement for the Front and Main building condominium Monday night.

The Van Buren/Cass District Health Department is going to construct a new building across from the Dowagiac City Hall, which is now a parking lot.

Borgess Lee-Memorial will expand into space at Donald Lyons Health Center where the health department is currently located.

The health department will then expand its services in the new professional office/services building.

The city will purchase the former Borgess medial building on South Front Street to facilitate construction of the professional services building as well as to help replace the parking that will be lost.

Funds from that sale go to Borgess Lee Foundation for purchase of equipment to serve Borgess-Lee Memorial Hospital.

The Van Buren/Cass District Health Department will occupy the second floor of the new building, while the first floor will have space available for lease.

At its Aug. 12 meeting, the council approved two resolutions that set the process in motion.

Two resolutions formally set the process in motion so funding for the transactions can take place.

Van Buren Cass Community Health Properties issued $2.49 million in limited obligation revenue bonds for the health and medical office building project on April 12, 2006, which was subsequently amended and restated on June 27, 2007, to increase the principal amount to $2.822 million.

Lyons Health Center is 20,081 square feet leased in its entirety by the issuer, a Michigan non-profit known as Van Buren Cass Community Health Properties, to the health department and sub-leased in part to the hospital for provision of essential public health care services for residents of the two counties who are health department constituents.

The council expects that ground will be broken on the project sometime in October.