Every one of the nine speakers at the Salvation Army’s “Hope of Main” groundbreaking lauded the $100 million-plus project as transformative and, in a large respect, long overdue.
“Hope on Main,” which will be done in three phases during the next few years, will be the development of a 32 room/ 80-bed emergency shelter on Main Street near Allen Street, as well as the construction of 160 apartments and townhomes on both Main and North Pearl streets. The first phase will begin later this month.
The impact will be huge, says Major Annette Lock, director of Salvation Army County operations.
“Every family who comes through our doors has a different story that's led them to this process, and when they get here, no matter what that story has been, they are welcomed, they are in a safe space, and they will receive the tools that they need to be able to move forward and be in a more stable situation for their families,” Lock said.
It went through numerous city, state, and county reviews - each time winning plaudits,
Strong support helped push “Hope on Main” forward, says Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon.
“It's fantastic to see this, this comes to life from beginning to end here. The best part about it is that it's only phase one. You're going to have multiple other phases of this project coming along, and its proximity to the medical center and services that might be needed for people in this proximity is just another fantastic part of the project,” Scanlon said.
Because of its immediate surroundings and neighborhoods, Hope on Main’s construction footprint will be tight.
Very tight, says Frank Ciminelli II, ARC Building Partners CEO. ARC is the project construction manager.
“It’s the toughest logistically out of all the projects we're going to deal with because we have to maintain the existing operations and not disrupt our neighbors,” Ciminelli said. “There's a bit of an elevation change to deal with. We're kind of shoehorned in there, and subsequently, even though it's the bigger building, we will have created the real estate to kind of give us a little breathing room to execute a little bit more seamlessly.”
Major Lock says some pre-construction remediation work is already underway in the 950 Main building. Once the construction starts this spring, it may take 16 months to complete the emergency shelter building, with construction on the other phase to follow.
