MANSFIELD — Wayfinders Ohio has secured more than $2.1 million to remodel an existing building into a larger homeless shelter, agency Executive Director Miles Parsons said Wednesday.
The estimated price tag for the project is between $2 and $2.6 million.
“We’re really kind of right on track with where we were wanting to be at this stage in the game financially,” Parsons said.
The new facility at 661 Park Ave. East was a former medical complex. Wayfinders acquired the property in February from the Richland County Land Bank.
Parsons provided a project update Wednesday during a Richland County Land Bank meeting. Preliminary work discovered unexpected mold issues in the building, but Parsons said the structure is in good shape.
“(The mold) is a little bit more significant than we initially had thought. We’re about $90,000 in so far in just mold remediation,” Parsons said.
“Everything is really structurally pretty sound in the building,” he said.
Parsons said Wayfinders has selected the furnishings and colors for the buildings. The remodeling work was been bid out, with eight bids ultimately submitted.
Those bids are slated to be opened on Monday morning — delayed by a week due to the architect contracting COVID-19.
“I’ve got them secured in my safe, but I am incredibly anxious to get these eight bids open,” Parsons said. “Having that many bids on a project that relatively small size is obviously a good thing to have.”
Parsons said the plan is to select a general contractor and begin the work as soon as possible. He said he expects the work to be completed by Oct. 31, 2026.
New facility would increase capacity to 80 residents, up from 58
Wayfinders provides temporary housing to women, children and men. The organization also provides assistance with finding permanent housing and jobs.
The organization was formerly known as Harmony House and is located downtown at 124 W. Third St.
“We have outgrown the (current) space,” Parsons told public officials last year. “(661 Park Ave. East) has been sitting empty for several years, but it has a great deal of potential.”
The current shelter has capacity for 58 residents at a time. The new facility would expand that to between 78 and 80 residents, Parsons said.
“We saw 611 individuals utilize our shelter in 2024, up slightly from the previous year,” Parsons said. “We may be closer to that 650-700 mark this year as we’re currently close to capacity with 15 children currently in shelter.”
The new site is roughly 12,500 square-feet. It is located within the City of Mansfield, next to the Richland County Sheriff’s Office.
Parsons 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.
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.
Land Bank approves $500,000 forgivable loan, funded by county commissioners
The Richland County Land Bank board approved a $500,000 forgivable loan for the project on Wednesday. The loan will be indirectly funded by the Richland County Board of Commissioners, which can’t legally donate funds to Wayfinders, but can allocate them to the Land Bank.
“It’s a procedure that needs to take place in order to facilitate the money going to Wayfinders,” Commissioner and Land Bank board member Tony Vero said.
Land bank board members said their intention is to forgive the loan, provided Wayfinders completes the project.
The county sharing of funding is COVID-19 relief money from the American Rescue Plan Act. Thus, the work will need to be done by the end of 2026 to meet project deadlines.
Other financial contributions include $500,000 from the City of Mansfield, $500,000 from the Milliron Foundation, $390,000 from the Richland County Foundation and $250,000 from Ohio’s state capital budget.
Parsons said he is currently pursuing additional funding and financing through Park National Bank. Wayfinders will also sell its current location once the move takes place.
