A physician is planning to convert a historic South Windsor residential home into medical offices for his expanding practice at 1300 Sullivan Ave., formerly known as 8 Collins Lane.
Dr. Vasanth Kainkaryam, of 4 Elements Vitality Institute LLC, bought the property for $427,750 in December, 2023, according to town land records.
He is seeking a special exception and site plan approval from the South Windsor Planning & Zoning Commission for a medical office in the town’s rural residential zoning district between Sand Hill and Pierce roads.
Kainkaryam is looking to relocate and expand his medical practice, known as 4 Elements Direct Primary Care LLC, from the current location at 1199 Sullivan Ave., to the historic Collins House, which has 3,800 square feet of space and dates back to 1869.
His plan for the 4.8-acre property will look to preserve the historic structure by keeping the exterior relatively unchanged while remodeling the interior for professional office use, according to the application.
The first phase of this redevelopment will create 20 parking spaces behind the building for patients and staff. The second phase includes a new 1,800-square-foot expansion off the existing building. The third phase will create a 1,000-square-foot single-story barn for patient therapies. No timeline has yet been established for those projects.
Kainkaryam has adopted a relatively new and innovative business model: direct primary care.
The practice is unique because it doesn’t accept health insurance.
Instead, patients pay a monthly fee, which guarantees them shorter wait times and longer face-to-face visits with the doctor, as well as access to phone, text or telehealth services.
Kainkaryam’s practice offers direct primary care and integrative medicine; immigration exams and primary care for international visitors; aesthetic medicine and massage; and vitality medicine and weight optimization.
The development team for the project includes Design Professionals Inc. of South Windsor; REAL Engineering, Inc. for traffic engineering; and REMA Ecological Services LLC of Vernon for soils and wetlands related services.
Peter DeMallie, of Design Professionals, said the new building is a much larger site for expansion of the practice.
Since it was built, the home belonged to the Collins family, owners of the Post Road Stages bus company and Collins Bus Company.
“It’s an iconic structure in the center of town and it’s exciting that he’ll adaptively reuse this historic building for his practice and maintain the exterior,” DeMallie said.
