SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – You don’t need to be in the hospital anymore, but you are not ready to go home. That is where the Rehabilitation Institute of Springfield would come in, if it’s built on the city’s west side.

“They are seeking (state) approval to build a $66 million, free-standing hospital,” Springfield Business Journal executive editor Michelle Ownbey told the WTAX Morning Newswatch. “It would have sixty beds. The idea is if you have had a stroke or brain injury, people could stay for a few weeks while they recover and do their physical therapy.”

Ownbey said it’s a joint venture between Memorial Health and an Alabama company and could open in 2029 near Alex Blvd. and Milby Lane.

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A Dirksen Parkway suite hotel is in line to become an apartment building, pending city approval. Ownbey says the owners of the 109-unit MainStay Suites are seeking the change.

“They’ve already got the little kitchenettes in there because of it being an extended stay hotel,” said Ownbey, “and they already work with area non-profits like Helping Hands and Fifth Street Renaissance to provide housing. Fifth Street Renaissance rents one full floor of the property.”