FORT SMITH -- Arkansas has approved grants totaling $695,000 allowing a coalition of agencies and groups in Fort Smith to begin acquiring property for a campus to consolidate services for the homeless.
The Arkansas Development Finance Authority recently approved three grants Fort Smith homeless coordinator Debbie Everly said gives the Old Fort Homeless Coalition the $2.9 million it needs to acquire and renovate a vacant Riverside Furniture factory at 301 South E Street into what's being called Riverview Hope Campus.
She said the coalition, which has had a letter of intent to buy the building for nearly three years, has begun the process of buying the building.
Riverside reduced the price of the 127,000-square-foot building from $620,000 to $603,441, which is the amount of Community Development Block Grant money Fort Smith officials allocated to the coalition for the homeless campus, Everly said.
The city required the coalition to have its financing for the campus in place before it would release the money.
The $695,000 in Arkansas Development Finance Authority money is composed of three grants: $250,000 from the Arkansas Housing Trust Fund, $173,833 from the Mortgage Settlement Fund and $271,166 in Financial Adjustment Factor funds, according to a coalition news release.
The Financial Adjustment Factor money was intended to fill gaps in the budget, according to the authority's website.
In addition to the property acquisition, the coalition has advertised for a project architect. She said requests for qualifications are due Wednesday.
Plans are to renovate 35,000 square feet of the building into an emergency shelter for 75 homeless people, weekday dayroom services for nearly 200 people. The campus also will have bathrooms, showers, cafeteria, laundry, kennels, secure storage for personal belongings, a commercial kitchen and worship center.
Various local agencies and groups have agreed to partner with the coalition to provide an array of services. Among them are Mercy Hospital of Fort Smith, Fort Smith Public Schools Adult Education, Western Arkansas Counseling and Guidance Center, Valley Behavioral Health System, Fort Smith Housing Authority, Next Step Homeless Services and the Veterans Administration.
Money for Riverview Hope Campus has come from several sources, among them a $500,000 grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank in Dallas, $813,273 in private gifts from foundations and in-kind donations along with the $695,000 Arkansas Development Finance Authority grant and the $603,441 block grant money from Fort Smith.
NW News on 02/27/2015