Despite months of delays and a recent lawsuit, the owner of a new methadone clinic in West Baltimore said he is planning a grand opening next month.

Dr. Devesh Kanjarpane has been trying for years to convert a former auto parts warehouse into a health center that will also dispense a medication that curbs cravings for opioids.

Fentanyl has been killing Baltimoreans at historically high rates. Methadone is one of the strongest tools that health professionals say they have to keep people addicted to opioids alive. Taking methadone often involves daily visits to a clinic for an on-site dose.

But residents and business owners in the Whittier-Monroe neighborhood near Mondawmin Mall pushed back when they learned Kanjarpane’s clinic would offer methadone treatment.

The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors. Become one.

The tensions boiled over at an April hearing before the city’s planning commission, but it appeared that residents had no way to stop the clinic from opening. At the time, Kanjarpane said it would open in June.

Months passed with no opening.

In December, the general contractor, Virginia-based JDS USA, LLC, sued Kanjarpane in Baltimore Circuit Court.

According to the lawsuit, Kanjarpane had “negligently and fraudulently” performed architectural work and changed the designs without consulting his contractor.

Kanjarpane is a medical doctor licensed in Maryland. He is not a licensed architect.

The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors. Become one.

Kanjarpane’s changes to the designs caused “delays, increased costs, and disruptions,” the lawsuit said, and his architectural drawings led to “substandard work and regulatory issues.”

JDS did not respond to a request for comment.

Speaking outside his clinic Wednesday morning, Kanjarpane said the lawsuit will not affect his plans to open in February.

Charm City Medical Center, located at 2220 Reisterstown Road, already has a use and occupancy permit from the city. Kanjarpane said that means any issues with the design of the building are irrelevant.

For now, Kanjarpane said, he is focused on staffing up ahead of the grand opening.

Kanjarpane previously told The Baltimore Banner that the $8 million clinic will employ 60-70 people and offer primary care, therapy, addiction counseling and a host of other services.