Former Carmel Retreat Approved To Be Used As Drug Rehab Facility

MAHWAH, NJ – A former religious retreat in Mahwah received the green light from the township to operate as a facility for those recovering from substance abuse.

The township zoning board unanimously approved Hackensack Meridian Health Carrier Clinic’s use variance application at its Sept. 18 meeting, allowing for the Carmel Retreat property to be used as a behavioral health, substance abuse, detoxification and residential rehabilitation center.

Inpatient, as well as outpatient, treatment will be offered at the facility, according to Don Parker, president of Hackensack Meridian Health Carrier Clinic.

The health provider hopes to offer some of its outpatient services by early 2020 and open the remainder of the facility in 2020, Parker said.

“We’re really focusing on integrative medicine strategies, which is also called complimentary alternative medicine,” he said.

That means patients on the road to recovery will also participate in activities such as yoga, tai chi and visiting with the horses nearby at Power Pony Therapies, he said.

“It’s a beautiful place,” he said. “There’s trails and nature all around. It’s a fabulous environment for recovery.”

He added: “It’s also a historical piece of property in Mahwah and we’d like to preserve as much as we can.”

Over the years, several options have been tossed around for the property, including a convention center, a yoga center and single-family homes.

In 2012, the Carmel Retreat, which was a religious center run by a group of Catholic friars, shut down due to financial difficulties.

The 37.5-acre property on Ramapo Valley Road contains one main building, two smaller ones and two outer buildings.

Zoning changes and other variances were originally approved in 2016 to operate a rehabilitation center at site, however the deal fell apart after one of the developers backed out of the deal with the health provider.

Prior to construction, Hackensack Meridian Health Carrier Clinic must receive site plan approval to renovate the main building to house residential patients. Parker said renderings are still being developed.

The goal is to “preserve as much as possible while adding in some amenities to make it a more modern facility.”

Parker anticipates there will be between 60 and 70 residential patients at the center, with about 20 employees working there.

The center would be the first in Bergen County for Hackensack Meridian Health and Carrier Clinic, he said. It would also be “one of the largest facilities” in the northern, central and western parts of New Jersey, he said.