New $21 Million Emergency Crisis Center Breaks Ground In King Of Prussia

KING OF PRUSSIA, PA — After years of haggling over proposals and concerns from residents, Montgomery County has broken ground on its new $21 million health crisis center in King of Prussia.

The county announced the investment in July 2024, with funding from settlements granted in opioid abuse cases, but the location was not finalized. The new center will provide immediate help to anyone suffering from a behavioral emergency, mental health issue, or substance abuse.

"I'm proud that this was funded in part by opioid settlements I spent years working on before holding public office," Commissioner Neil Makhija said. "I'm also grateful to my colleagues, the state, and county team. This project was our priority in our county budget. We're tackling a mental health and substance abuse crisis. Local leadership matters."

The center, which will be operated in partnership with Connections Health Solutions, is being branded as a 24/7 facility and the first of its kind in Pennsylvania. Officials hope it serves as a state model for emergency behavioral care.

An exact opening date for the center is not yet clear.

The project comes after an earlier plan to bring a facility to Eagleville Hospital came with sharp backlash from locals, and was ultimately rejected by the Lower Providence Board of Supervisors.

During a ceremony Monday, officials symbolically swung a sledgehammer into a wall. The project will redevelop and expand existing buildings on 1021 West 8th Avenue in King of Prussia.

Authorities hope the center helps individuals in crisis avoid jail, where they would not receive the treatment they need, and potentially continue the cycle of recidivism. While officials did not directly discuss the proposed but eventually nixed Eagleville Hospital project — a temporary housing project for the homeless with close access to emergency mental health care — this project, introduced just weeks after that one was axed, is a clear alternative and successor.

The county received 5,500 calls for a mental health crisis in 2023, while the national Suicide and Crisis Lifeline received 5,435 calls from Montgomery County residents. The Montgomery County Department of Public Safety's Emergency Communications Center fields dozens of similar 911 calls every week.