Sovereign Health closes after lengthy battle with the city of Fort Myers

A controversial mental health facility in Fort Myers has closed its doors after lengthy battles with the city over zoning.

Sovereign Health first opened in late 2014, on East Riverside Drive near Palm Beach Boulevard, as a drug and alcohol rehab facility.

Some nearby residents, however, are happy to see the facility close, like neighbor Shane Veitch, who has lived in his home for 28 years, “It’s been a nuisance for the neighborhood and we’d like to have it cleaned up.”

While WINK News was at the property Tuesday, we saw vans driving away. The phone number on the only sign was disconnected.

The program director was on site, but refused to comment.

Neighbor Tom Young said,”It was the traffic, the noise and congestion that came with this place that we’re so happy to see gone right now.

A former Sovereign Health  employee says he wasn’t paid on time.

“They always had the police over there. I saw emergency vehicles there in the middle of the night like every other day it seemed like, said neighbor Whitaker Avedikian, “It was a lot of just, chaos. Honestly, I wouldn’t believe it was a health center.”

A lengthy battle with the city involving lawsuits ended last year, requiring the business be used only for mental health and not drug rehabilitation.

The property is zoned for assisted living and that’s what neighbors want for the area.

“I’d love to see elderly care come in here or apartments or something but this was just the wrong type of venue for this location,” Young said.

WINK was told Tuesday only that the business shut down in June. We were given an email to get more answers, but haven’t heard back.