UPDATE, 4:30 p.m.:

The county identified the applicant of this project as Christopher Trent, owner of Redwood Recovery, LLC, which is based in Garberville. 

###

UPDATE, 5 p.m.:

Kerry Durkee, owner founder of Redwood Recovery Center, LLC, says her Eureka-based outpatient detox organization has no affiliation with the very similarly named LLC cited above and is not involved in the Hartsook Inn proposal.

###

###

Southern Humboldt may soon have its own residential detox facility in the redwoods as an unidentified applicant is looking to establish one inside the former Hartsook Inn, a long-shuttered tourist lodge just south of Richardson Grove State Park.

On Tuesday, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors approved a general plan amendment and zone reclassification for the 17.7-acre property, which borders Richardson Grove and the South Fork Eel River, just north of the spot where Reggae on the River is often held.

The supervisors approved the rezone request as part of its consent calendar, which means they didn’t discuss any of the project specifics. A staff report concluded that a residential detox center on this property would serve the public good “by providing needed health care and treatment options in Southern Humboldt.”

The inpatient residential detoxification center will provide “a safe, structured environment for individuals seeking treatment for substance use disorders,” the report says, adding that it could provide jobs and needed health care in remote areas of the county while preserving the property’s potential to revert back to a hotel.

Originally built in the 1920s, the Hartsook Inn was, for a time, a popular retreat for such celebrities as Bing Crosby and Mary Pickford. With a grand lodge and 50 cabins nestled in the redwoods, the Hartsook burned down and was rebuilt several times over the decades. Save the Redwoods League purchased it in 1998, then sold it in 2007 to the Heartwood Institute, whose owners planned to transform it into a retreat destination with a conference center, restaurant and spa. However, the property has remained vacant and deteriorating for many years.

Who is behind this new detox center proposal? Their identity remains somewhat obscured at this point. [No longer! See the update at the top of this post.] A petition letter was submitted to the Humboldt County Planning and Building Department in January by an employee of Drug Rehab Agency, a marketing and consulting agency based in Kansas City.

The Outpost reached that agency’s owner, Jon McMinn, via phone on Tuesday. He said his company had been hired “on behalf of the client” to get the project through the approval process but he declined to identify that client by name, citing a non-disclosure agreement. McMinn offered to check with his client before getting back to us but had yet to do so by the time this post was published.

The two-parcel property was most recently purchased in May 2022 by a company called Hartsook Inn, LLC, according to data on file with the Humboldt County Assessor’s Office. The registered agents for that company have an address in Glendale and dozens of LLCs in their names.

We’ve reached out to the Humboldt County Administrative’s Office and Department of Health and Human Services for more info and will update this post (or just write another one) once we know who the applicant is.

SoHum has been without a residential detox center since Singing Trees Recovery Center closed, then reopened under new management only to shut down again after the new owner was arrested for DUI and child endangerment, then reported to the state on allegations of unethical behavior, including misappropriation of government funds.

The county staff report says a detox facility on the Hartsook Inn property “will contribute positively to the local economy by creating jobs, attracting professional health care staff, and enhancing support services in the area.” It also noted that the facility “will provide much-needed resources to combat substance abuse and improve overall public health, directly benefiting the local population.” Clients would not be allowed to leave the premises while enrolled in the detox program.

The staff report also notes potential negative impacts. Given its proximity to Richardson Grove and the South Fork Eel, “its potential presence can be interpreted as not being consistent with the intended nature of the property,” the staff report says, noting the site’s history as “a visitor-serving entity.” Tourism could suffer, the report argues. 

“However,” it continues, “the property has not been operational as an Inn (or visitor-serving entity) for many years, and the social, health and economic benefits that could be gained from a professional health care center are worth consideration.”

Here’s the property location and boundaries: