Nonprofits ask council to endorse ‘triangle’ plan to convert three buildings into permanent supportive housing

Representatives of Mercy Center for Women and Build Community Development Corporation asked the County Council for an endorsement to pursue a three-site supportive-housing project that would repurpose local school and church buildings and seek Medicaid-related and HUD resources to provide permanent housing and wraparound services. Jenny Haggerty, speaking for Mercy Center for Women, said the project team has identified three properties — a Washington School building, the Sacred Heart building and Saint Paul — and estimated the combined projects could range from $3.5 million to $11.5 million. "There's roughly $2,550,000 sitting in [the Health Choices fund] right now untapped," Haggerty said, describing that funding source as Medicaid-related. Lou Haggerty and a Build Community Development Corporation representative said the proposal calls for their building at 20 First and Sash to provide 22 apartments, Sacred Heart to yield as many as 20 apartments, plus services at Saint Paul, with a plan to use project-based vouchers through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to support operating costs. A Build Community speaker said the aim is to have the project off the ground by fall and to have units available in winter 2026. The Mercy Center representative described an existing county grant of $250,000 that helped open Mercy Acre Community Center in a former Holy Rosary School building, saying that center now houses 30–34 individuals, runs GED classes and a food pantry satellite. Speakers emphasized the project's Housing First approach — permanent homes with on-site services — and said the model can be cost-effective compared with street-based interventions. The presenters asked the council to endorse partnering and to permit pursuit of the Health Choices funds; the transcript records the request but no formal endorsement vote or motion appears in this segment. Council members and meeting participants voiced verbal support and asked for community explanation of what units will look like; presenters described units as private apartments with kitchens and bathrooms and said tenancy can be permanent if needed under the Housing First model. The presenters identified partners including the county housing authority and local health-and-human-services staff; they said they have discussed the plan with state DHS representatives Lauren Ford and Christy Martone. No formal funding decision or county appropriation was recorded in the transcript of this meeting.