MIDVALE — A new beginning for the Road Home’s community overflow shelter starts bright and early Tuesday.
Demolition of the World War II-era warehouse, which has served as an overflow winter shelter for homeless families and individuals since 1989, is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. A new facility will be built in its place.
"For any of you who have had the opportunity to witness the conditions under which our team has been operating and our families have been enduring, you know that completion of this endeavor will not come one moment too soon," said Matt Minkevitch, the Road Home's executive director.
Ground could be broken for the new overflow shelter by month's end, he said.
The mild winter enabled the Road Home staff to move families out of the Midvale shelter last week. The building was turned over to the general contractor, Hogan & Associates Construction of Centerville, on March 19. Some site work is already underway such as installing storm drains, Minkevitch said.
The Road Home, which shelters, houses and provides intensive case management of homeless individuals, purchased the building in 2012, with plans to refurbish it.
Administrators and members of the nonprofit organization later determined that the building's core problems would not be overcome with a remodeling job. The restrooms are dated, the kitchen and laundry facilities inadequate and there are few spaces where caseworkers can talk to clients privately.
The new facility will provide some private meeting space for families, dedicated space for caseworkers, upgraded kitchens, laundry and lavatories, including a place to bathe babies.
"The thing we tried to do with the design is create some spaces where people can break out and not be in one congregated mass of humanity," he said.
According to Salt Lake County assessor records, the facility was built in the late 1940s as a warehouse. Minkevitch said the building was used to clean and package celery.
The new facility has been designed with amenities to encourage families to sit down at tables to eat meals together and an outdoor loft, where people can get a breath of fresh air.
"It’s certainly more humane than what we're currently providing. That's why I can't wait to tear that down. It's certainly more humane and hospitable in that regard and yet only an intermediate step," Minkevitch said.
"It's still below what housing is for a family, which is their own space, which is still the better option. But this gives us some ability to provide an interim option until we can get families back in housing, as it's always been, only less of a MASH unit."
The new facility has been designed by NJRA Architects of Murray.
While the Road Home has somewhat of a head start in demolition and construction, completing the new shelter by early November may be a bit of a "nail biter," Minkevitch said.
Still, being able to provide a new facility that better accommodates the needs of families and staff will be a welcome change.
"The only thing that would be better would be to no longer need it," he said.
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