02/08/2019
The project's first phase, which will cost $6.2 million, includes creating a 150-bed, year-round homeless shelter and a homeless day center with showers and laundry facilities. It is slated for completion in October.
The second phase, which will cost $7.6 million, includes constructing a welcome center and a massive kitchen and dining room capable of feeding about 200 people. That phase is scheduled to be completed in 2017.
The $2.5 million in federal funding would go entirely toward the first phase, leaving about $2 million left to raise for the shelter and day center, said Larry Yonker, the nonprofit's president and chief executive.
"I think the community's rallying," Yonker said.
City Council must approve the decision.
A meeting for residents to comment on the spending proposal will be held at 6 p.m. on March 15 at City Hall, 107 N. Nevada Ave. City Council also plans to host a public hearing at 1 p.m. April 12 at City Hall.
City officials already planned to spend $720,000 this year to help create the campus.
But under the plan announced Monday, officials would boost that funding to $2.5 million using federal grant money that has gone unspent.
About $1.92 million in Community Development Block Grant funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development have not been spent in recent years, because past projects cost less than anticipated, and because revenue from several programs (often loan repayments) proved greater than anticipated, according to the city's amended action plan to HUD.
The city wants to use $1.78 million of that money to help finance the homeless campus' renovation and expansion.
Yonker said the city's announcement came at a critical time. He is working to secure funding for phase one by Dec. 31, and construction is expected to begin in the coming months.
"Time is of the essence, because we've got a lot of work to do," he said
