County approves homeless facility

The foundation is in place for bringing a 100-unit, one-stop homeless services center to St. Johns County.

St. Johns County commissioners unanimously approved Tuesday rezoning more than 13 acres for the project on State Road 207 near Wildwood Drive. The rezoning provides the foundation needed to seek more funding for the project, officials said. The rezoning, recommended for approval by the Planning and Zoning Agency in March, changes the zoning from Open Rural and Commercial General to Planned Unit Development.

Home Again St. Johns is backing the project in coordination with other agencies, including the St. Francis House and The Salvation Army.

Troy Blevins, Home Again St. Johns board director, said raising money is the next step.

“We’ve got to figure out how to get it built,” Blevins said.

As they gear up for fundraising, Home Again St. Johns officials are also searching for a new executive director. Blevins said a replacement for David Hoak, who retired in March, has not been found.

While funding for buildings is not available, plans needed to be in place to get grants, said Karen Taylor, planner for the project.

The development is scheduled to be finished within 10 years, but the speed of construction depends on fundraising.

Jon Benoit, board member of Home Again St. Johns, said at the Planning and Zoning meeting that $7 million is needed to complete the project.

The Planned Unit Development application calls for up to 100 apartments in five buildings for families and single women and men. The complex would also have dining areas and offices for social services and medical and dental care.

The buildings would be limited to 35 feet in height, and land around the property would provide a buffer between the complex and the surrounding community. A fence would also separate residential buildings from other areas.

“Everything is kind of enclosed to the site,” Taylor said.

The goal of providers is to build a place where homeless people can find a range of services in one place — and a support system that will help them transition to permanent housing.

Blevins said the length of stay would depend on a person’s need. That could be 30 days or two years, or whatever time frame it takes for someone to be successful.

Benoit said the group wanted to achieve three main goals with the site: Housing capacity, supportive services and outreach.

The complex would meet an immediate need for housing. The buildings would have standard apartments on a smaller scale to help people transition to permanent housing. Units would have their own kitchens and private bathrooms.

“There is no dormitory-style housing proposed in this plan,” Benoit said.

Supportive services includes case management, medical services, job services and other basics. The third goal, outreach, involves case managers reaching out to homeless people in the community to see how the facility could help them.

The project needed a waiver for a parking requirement to allow for 143 parking spaces, which is below the number of spaces that what would normally be required. Officials do not expect all of the residents to have cars.

The Salvation Army provided a $1 per-year land lease for 99 years for the site, according the application. s