PORT ANGELES — The longtime Aggie’s sign on the building came down earlier this year. Now the project to build 15 one-bedroom apartments and possibly a soup kitchen for the chronically homeless at 535 E. First St. took another step forward when the City Council granted it a five-year, $70,000 loan.
Serenity House Executive Director Kathy Wahto said Wednesday the money will be used to renovate the building for the Tempest Permanent Supportive Housing Project.
“I’m anxious to start making it look better on the exterior.
“We’ll get the roof done and then work on the exterior to make the building look better for the public,” she said.
The building that once housed Aggie’s Restaurant and Motel actually is three buildings joined together, Wahto said.
The renovation will make the complex look smaller and more inconspicuous, she said.
The project management had to be contracted out, so the design work and bid preparation has been slower than expected, Wahto said.
The original completion target of early 2007 has moved to June 2007, she said.
“The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development is satisfied with the progress we’re making,” Wahto said.
“The City Council was really supportive of this application. The city was very supportive from the finance director through the city manger,” she said.
The loan comes from the city’s Community Development Block Grant revolving fund that has more than $445,000.
The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded Serenity House a $356,000 grant to buy and remodel the building and also is providing a renewable grant to help with operating expenses.
Another $100,000 in state and private foundation grants is pending.
Homes for homeless
The Tempest Project will provide 15 low-cost apartments — rent will be 30 percent of a resident’s gross income — targeted at the chronically homeless.
The idea is to reduce the use of emergency rooms, 9-1-1 and the county jail.
The project will remodel 15 rooms facing Albert Street in a wing of the old Aggie’s building into “modest apartments” with bathrooms, kitchenettes, Murphy beds and soundproofing.
The Murphy beds, which disappear into the wall, will provide more space in the small apartments.
The building also has a “window wall” that acts like one-way glass, allowing residents to have a view while maintaining privacy.