It’s been a long time in the making, but HealthSource of Southern Ohio has opened its new family practice offices in New Richmond.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Thursday, March 29 to officially open the new, New Richmond Family Practice.

The 15,000 square foot facility, located at 100 River Valley Boulevard, has replaced the the old offices just down the street.

The new facility is able to accommodate 2,000 more patients than the previous offices, and the new building is LEED certified.

To achieve the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification, the building was designed with many “green,” or energy efficient features, such as plentiful natural lighting, bike racks, and showers for bicycle commuters, among many other features.

HealthSource of Ohio board member Kevin Lefler said that while construction only took 10 months, the project has been being worked on ever since the flood of 1997 put the other office under water.

“We’ve been working for this for 15 years,” Lefler said. “We’ve been looking over our shoulder every time for river rose.”

This new family practice office, and HealthSource’s new Eastgate facility, have been funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which was passed by Congress in 2009 to create new jobs, save existing jobs, and encourage economic development.