CU at Home plans to move moderate barrier shelter to west Champaign office building | Housing

CHAMPAIGN — A local nonprofit is hoping to bring a homeless shelter and related services to a commercial building in west Champaign.

CU at Home is seeking a special use permit to allow the construction of a mid-barrier shelter at 1207 S. Mattis Ave., an office building located between Little Caesars Pizza and the Perfectionist Dry Cleaning and Laundry in the commercial district zoning district.

Melissa Cortright, executive director of CU at Home, told The News-Gazette that the nonprofit has spent the last 18 months searching for a building in the Champaign-Urbana area that “would allow us to expand our facilities and also house our case management departments and administrative services.” ” services under one roof.”

“The existing design and layout of the building were the deciding factors in our decision,” she said. “This was previously home to the Christie Sleep Clinic but now has a variety of bedrooms and extensive plumbing infrastructure. This space and its design will allow us to offer confidential living space and intensive services, giving our clients the opportunity to take significant steps towards stability.”

Under the proposed plan, she said, the nonprofit would be the sole owner of the building, which would house administrative offices, case management offices, group meeting space and living quarters with 16 men’s and 10 women’s beds.

CU at Home takes a phased approach to moving participants toward community integration, and the Mattis Avenue facility will house people in Phases 1 through 3. Those “foundational” phases require the “most intensive case management services,” Cortright said. .

People who are not yet ready to return to the community are moving into phase four, she said. This involves living in one of CU at Home’s “advanced” shelters, which offer more independence.

“Our existing men’s and women’s moderate barrier shelters will be converted to additional high-convenience shelters, also referred to as Phase 4 of our program,” Cortright said. “We will also maintain our current modern shelter facilities (Phase 4). With this new facility, we will be able to offer an additional 10 beds for our program. It’s important to note that we have no plans to close any of our current businesses.”

Consolidating people in Phases 1 through 3 into one building would reduce personnel costs by about $200,000, according to the nonprofit’s application.

Program and life skills support teams will be on site and available 24 hours a day, CU at Home said. Team members are “highly trained” in trauma-informed care, de-escalation and crisis management. In addition, program participants will have to adhere to a curfew.

The approximately 12,000-square-foot building is currently owned by McNew Capital LLC, which currently leases space to an insurance company, chiropractor, consulting business and health care provider. A “significant portion” of the property, which formerly housed the Christie Clinic Sleep Center, is vacant, according to CU at Home.

As for the current tenants, Bret Kroenke of Country Financial plans to move his offices to 2004 Fox Drive. While details are still being worked out, he said the tentative plan is to move in Dec. 1.

Accent Counseling also plans to move into the Fox Drive building and is still finalizing details of its move.

Huey’s Home Medical told The News-Gazette it also plans to relocate and its corporate office is searching for a new location.

The Champaign County Housing Authority intends to buy the building from McNew, Cortright said.

CU at Home is working with the housing authority to increase the number of people living in the moderate barrier program, the nonprofit said. The partnership includes work to maintain and improve the building on Mattis, and the housing authority will also partially subsidize annual operating costs.

Cortright said her agency is still finalizing the details of that collaboration, as well as a potential partnership with the Champaign County Council.

CU at Home is requesting that the Opioid Task Force allocate funds for on-site housing renovations.

“A significant number of our clients primarily or secondarily use opioids, often in the form of prescription painkillers, which they either abuse after being prescribed or purchase illegally,” Cortright said. “Our program offers housing that promotes stability for people seeking to overcome addiction. In addition to providing housing, our program includes comprehensive case management support to support the recovery of those struggling with addiction.”

She added that CU at Home is still in the “due diligence” phase of Mattis’ property, subject to receiving the requested permitting and finalizing financing.

If everything falls into place, the plan is to move a case management team to the site after the first year, and they hope to have the living quarters ready by July 1, she said.

The Champaign Plan Commission will consider the permit request at its meeting Wednesday at 4 p.m. and then forward a recommendation to the City Council, which will make the final decision.

More information about the request can be found at Engage champaign.org/planning-and-development.