NEWS

St. Vincent to build transitional housing in Newark

Kent Mallett
Reporter
  • The Gardens on Sixth will include 20 single-bedroom units and four 2-bedroom units.
  • The housing coalition has 44 transitional units and a waiting list of 12 families, 23 single adults.
  • The St. Vincent Haven men's shelter has 26 beds, four cots and two couches, serving 234 last year.

NEWARK — Some residents of local emergency shelters are ready to move on with their lives, but the cost of a new residence is beyond their means, a local shelter executive said.

Linda Berger, executive director of St. Vincent de Paul Housing Facilities, said a new 24-unit, affordable, transitional housing facility, called The Gardens on Sixth, will help those people starting next year.

Construction started recently on a six-building complex at 159 S. Sixth St., where residents leaving the St. Vincent Haven men’s shelter, the Salvation Army or the New Beginnings women’s shelter can stay for a year at reduced rent.

“There’s not enough transitional housing in Licking County, in general, so people are in emergency shelters longer than they need to be because they don’t have the wherewithal to go elsewhere,” Berger said.

“We’re looking at folks that really need that extra support and time. We’ll charge affordable rent with minimal security deposit.”

The Gardens on Sixth will include 20 single-bedroom units and four two-bedroom units.

Crews have broken ground at the site of the future St. Vincent de Paul transitional housing facility, called The Gardens on Sixth, at 159 S. Sixth St.

The facility, expected to be completed in the spring, will be donated to St. Vincent by the Pat and Herb Murphy Foundation. One building is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Herb Murphy, secretary-treasurer of the foundation and retired from Mid-Ohio Development, said he made some of his money by building housing, so he wants to give back in the form of housing opportunities.

“The city has nowhere for people to go to,” Murphy said. “I saw that need and asked if (transitional housing) would take the pressure off the shelters, and the answer was yes.”

The St. Vincent Haven shelter, which has 26 beds, is usually filled, as are four cots and two couches at the facility, Berger said. The men’s shelter served 234 people last year, with some staying a few days and some several months.

The Licking County Coalition for Housing has 44 transitional housing units scattered around Newark in multiunit complexes and single-family homes. Four are reserved for homeless veterans. The rest are split between families and single adults or couples without children.

Debbie Tegtmeyer, executive director of the housing coalition, said the waiting list for transitional housing units includes 12 families and 23 single adults.

“Sadly, we always have a waiting list,” Tegtmeyer said. “They could be on waiting list a couple months.”

Tegtmeyer said she welcomes the St. Vincent effort to help provide housing for people in need.

“I have no doubt it’ll be put to good use,” Tegtmeyer said. “We’ve got a large number of people who need some help. Additional housing would be great.”

Murphy said there is room for potential expansion at the Sixth Street location. The land was donated by Tectum Corp., Berger said.

The complex will include two buildings with six single-bedroom apartments, two buildings with four single-bedroom apartments, one building with four two-bedroom apartments, and one building as a clubhouse with office space and laundry facilities, according to Murphy and project manager Craig Lehman.

kmallett@newarkadvocate.com

740-328-8545

Twitter: @kmallett1958