It has been abandoned for about 20 years, but the city of Russellville is planning to bring its old hospital back to life.

The city purchased the hospital less than a year ago and is working with developers to transform the building into a low-income, senior living facility – but the project has a few obstacles to overcome.

“I’m just ready for them to get to work on it; we’re excited for it to become a senior facility,” said Kaye Simmons, city grant writer. “Any area of a town that has been vacant and not used for so long, it affects the community.”

Because it has been untouched for nearly two decades, state environmental officials are assessing the building to determine if it is contaminated with environmental toxins. Inspectors will inform city officials of the extent of any contamination and how to dispose of it. Then, the city must hire someone to clean up the building – a task officials are hoping to acquire grants for.

“There are all kinds of grants depending on how much (the cost) is,” Russellville Mayor Gene Zick said. “The state has funding available.”

So far, inspectors have found possible traces of lead paint, and continue to inspect the hospital, Simmons said.

“They thought it looked very good compared to other hospitals that they viewed,” she said. “They said it looked excellent.”

After the building is spruced up, the city will hand the project over to the developers – Lexington-based AU Associates.

“We ran into these folks a year or so ago and started thinking about what would be available,” Zick said.

Officials were impressed with the group after visiting a similar project the developers completed in Glasgow.

“They did an outstanding job, outstanding,” Zick said.

AU Associates specialize in refurbishing historical buildings, and the company has completed several senior facility projects, said Johan Graham, financial manager with AU Associates.

“Generally what we do is senior housing with a lot of older buildings,” he said. “They tend to be something the population can appreciate, to have extra space for community places for seniors.”

The company is working on four similar projects, and it is waiting for the Russellville building to get an environmental stamp of approval before moving forward with the development. The company plans to submit an application to the state for affordable housing and begin applying for tax incentives around spring 2009.

And Graham said while the building is in good shape for its age, the redevelopment process might be tricky.

“This particular building, it’s a double-edged sword,” he said. “It’s built so well, but it’s also built like a concrete bunker. That makes it more difficult (to develop).”

The development will probably include about 70 units and other amenities, such as a dining room, a living area and a library, Zick said.

The city purchased the 72,000-square-feet building for $150,000 after deciding to restore the structure to keep a part of the city’s history intact and turn it into a useful facility.

“If you talk to a lot of folks around here, they were born there,” Zick said. “There’s a lot of history in that building. It’s built like a castle; it’s almost indestructible.”