ST. JOHNSBURY — A long-vacant building at the edge of downtown will soon house a regional veterinary clinic.
David McGrath, a Massachusetts veterinarian, has bought three animal-care practices in St. Johnsbury in the last year and plans to consolidate their services under one roof at 131 Railroad St.
“They were three good practices in town,” but their facilities were dated, McGrath said. “So I’m really looking toward putting them all together, providing one nice, modern facility for patients and clients.”
The building, known locally as “the glove factory,” has been empty for more than 20 years. The St. Johnsbury Development Fund bought the 12,000-square-foot building in 2017, and officials poured about $400,000 in grant money into rehabbing the property in hopes of enticing a tenant.
They found one in McGrath, who signed a five-year lease in September and aims to open the new veterinary center in April.
“This spring, we still had no idea if we were going to have a tenant,” said Daniel Kimbell, president of the St. Johnsbury Development Fund, a nonprofit. “So we are definitely sighing a breath of relief.”
Kimbell said the development group typically works on industrial buildings but wanted to drive investment downtown with the Glove Factory rehab.
“It’s right on the gateway coming into town, so it’s one of the first buildings you see coming off the highway,” Kimbell said. ”Having it vacant just didn’t look real nice.”
The fund bought adjoining property, too, for a future parking lot.
The project was funded primarily by three federal grants in 2018 and 2019: $193,000 from the Northern Borders Regional Commission and two grants totaling close to $200,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Contractors redid the walls, windows, roofing and more, Kimbell said, and finished their work this summer.
McGrath, the new tenant, previously owned a group of 12 veterinary clinics in New England before selling them in 2016. Within the last year, he decided to buy three clinics in St. Johnsbury: the Animal Hospital of Donald Steen, the St. Johnsbury Animal Hospital and the Western Avenue Veterinary Clinic.
McGrath said he never considered the Northeast Kingdom a place to open a business, but he was drawn to the St. Johnsbury community — known for its 150-acre Dog Mountain park and the famous Dog Chapel. But he said the main motive for the plan was to improve the standard of care for pets in ways their owners can see.
“Clients today expect that we can provide the same kind of services we can provide for you,” he said.
He said the center will have suites dedicated to surgery and dental care, seven exam rooms and an in-house diagnostics lab — all upgrades on the existing facilities.
The project has a budget of about $1.5 million, he said.
McGrath said “pretty much everyone” on the staffs of the three clinics is staying on with the new center.
The veterinarians who ran two of the businesses are retiring, he said, and the third is remaining to perform specialist care. Four veterinarians in total will work at the new facility.
Assistant Town Manager Joe Kasprzak was upbeat about how valuable the consolidated practice will be.
“This should really provide the town and the region with veterinary services that we haven’t been able to have,” he said.
Kasprzak offered some insight into how the old building got its nickname: Between 1948 and 1984, it housed St. Johnsbury Glover, and from 1984 to 2001 Caledonia Sportswear reportedly ran a stitching and assembly line there.
