New Home for Charis House
By: Kristin Mazur
Updated: June 15, 2009
Charis House can now call the Wells Street Corridor home.
“This means we can go forward, that we can tackle whatever is in front of us and have the ‘the ok’” says Charis House President, Pastor Patty Crisp.
The City Planning Commission gave the go ahead tonight to allow the womens shelter to break ground on Wells Street, after much controversy on the location.
Crisp says that “its such a relief that the property has been validated.”
The commission debated over security of the area and whether it was safe to build on because of flooding. Crisp remains positive that neither will become major issues.
“Weve been around for the past 14 years, so were not the new kids on the block. Security will not be an issue at all,” says Crisp.
Project Engineer Derek Frederickson says that Charis House will continue to discuss with the city, the placement of storm pumps for the new location.
Another concern among the commission, the future relationship between Charis House and the surrounding Wells Street community. Crisp says the tension currently at hand is likely to settle with time.
“Once they see the positive aspect that we will bring to Wells Street, that tension will go away” says Crisp.
Charis House representatives say they hope to break ground sometime by the end of July. If they meet that goal, they hope to be under their new rood by winter.
