SULLIVAN - The 104-year-old Mason Point care facility is under negotiations to be sold by the Grand Masonic Lodge of Illinois.

Mason Point, formerly the Illinois Masonic Home, offers apartments, duplexes and nursing care for elderly people, both Masons and non-Masons, but no longer serves the needs of the Mason organization, said Ben Grisham, grand secretary for the Grand Masonic Lodge of Illinois.

In the last few years, Illinois Masons have conducted surveys of its members regarding the usefulness of a facility such as Mason Point, Grisham said. Mason Point is the only Mason facility for the elderly in Illinois.

The Masonic membership has made it known on these surveys that they are not interested in moving from across the state of Illinois to Sullivan in their senior years, Grisham said.

About two-thirds of the 150 residents of Mason Point are of Masonic affiliation, he said. The facility is not operating at full capacity.

Negotiations for the sale of Mason Point are under way, and Grisham said the plan is for current residents to continue living there.

"We are negotiating with a particular nursing home operator, and the plan is they will operate it as is," Grisham said.

The Grand Masonic Lodge is planning for the sale to go through by the end of the year, he said.

The Illinois Masonic Home was started in Sullivan after Robert Miller, a Mason, left property to the Masons for a home for the indigent and their families.

Once Mason Point is closed, the Masonic organization plans to do outreach work with senior members, letting them know what services might be available to them, Grisham said.

Amber Williams can be reached at awilliams@jg-tc.com or 238-6858.