Springfield, IL (WAND) – A major setback for a project to serve local healthcare workers, as the historic King’s Daughters Home in Springfield caught fire in early March.

The home served senior citizens for over 100 years.

Owner Yolonda Rice will lead a renovation of the house for nursing students and travel nurses, offering an affordable and supportive place to stay.

Rice said she was shocked when she learned the property was engulfed in flames.

“I was pretty devastated when I initially saw the damage. I can’t exactly tell you what caused the fire. They just know that we saw two people flee the building. That there was a fire started in the main room, [the] living room of the building,” Rice said.

Rice shared that the fire department is still investigating the fire, but is focused on moving forward with the much-needed project.

“I am a King’s Daughters board member, and this is the King’s Daughters Home, so it has sentimental value to me for that, as well. It has sentimental value because it is the history of Springfield, and I am a part of Springfield, so it’s a part of me. This is not a destroyed project. We just have been redirected. We’re not delayed. We’re not denied. We’re being redirected by this fire. With this fire, by no means puts a stop to our project,” Rice said.

Rice cannot put a definitive date on the project’s completion, but hopes to start construction sometime this summer.