MANSFIELD — Wayfinders Ohio is $500,000 closer to a larger homeless shelter in Mansfield.
The Richland County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday agreed to appropriate a half million dollars to the organization, which plans on relocating to former medical offices at 661 Park Ave. East.
The funds will likely come from the county’s expected $8 million budget surplus at the end of 2024 and would be passed through the Richland County Land Bank, which currently owns the property.
The unanimous vote came during a meeting with Miles Parsons, the executive director for the shelter now located at 124 W. Third St. in Mansfield.
Parsons said architects and engineers have estimated remodeling the Park Avenue East site would take $2 million to $2.6 million.
“I’m in favor of it wholeheartedly,” Commissioner Tony Vero said. “Miles has done great work.
“It makes sense for many reasons. We need to improve the quality of life for individuals (at the shelter).”
It’s the third government award for the project. Mansfield City Council on Nov. 19 approved a request from Mayor Jodie Perry to award $500,000 from the city’s share of American Rescue Plan Act funds. State lawmakers previously approved $250,000 in the state’s capital budget.
Parsons said the Milliron Foundation has donated $500,000 toward the project and he said a request for another $500,000 is pending with the Richland County Foundation.
Wayfinders, an organization founded in Mansfield 34 years ago and formerly known as Harmony House, would sell its current location if the move is made.
It served more than 600 clients in 2023 and may eclipse 700 in 2024, according to Parsons. It currently has room for 58 residents. It would have space for 75 in the new facility with the capability to expand to 90, Parsons said.
“We have outgrown the (current) space,” Parsons said. “(661 Park Ave. East) has been sitting empty for several years, but it has a great deal of potential.”
(Below is a PDF with a slide presentation prepared by Miles Parsons, executive director of Wayfinders Ohio, for the Richland County Board of Commissioners.)
The new site, while in the city limits, is roughly 12,500 square-feet and is located next to the Richland County Sheriff’s Office.
He said the site is located on the Richland County Transit bus line, allowing the temporarily housed residents transportation services. He said its location near the RCSO would allow the sheriff’s office to park vehicles in the lot, which could enhance security at the site.
Parsons said Wayfinders provides temporary housing, normally up to 40 days, to women, children and men, assisting them in finding permanent homes, jobs and more during the process.
The move would also open the Third Street site for potential new development in the Imagination District, across the street from the Renaissance Theatre and the Buckeye Imagination Museum.
If the relocation and remodeling occurs, the work would have to be complete by the end of 2026 in order to meet ARPA deadlines.
