Council approved a zoning text amendment creating a land-use category for "transitional housing facilities" and allowed conditional uses in the General Industrial (GI) district; that amendment cleared the way for Wayside Cross Ministries to seek approval for a map amendment and conditional use to convert a 42,000-square-foot, largely vacant office building at 890 North State Street into a transitional housing facility.

Wayside representatives said the facility would consolidate operations currently at 1730 Berkeley Street, provide dorm-style living quarters, a shared kitchen, laundry and program spaces, and onsite supportive services (case management, job training, recovery and counseling). Staff said the property has 156 parking spaces — roughly double what zoning would require for the proposed occupancy — and that most improvements are interior. Wayside said operations would be nonprofit-run, adequately staffed with about 10 professional staff plus volunteers, and include 24/7 security either via contracted guards or trained staff for the first two years.

Council members expressed support, and votes on the text amendment and Wayside’s conditional-use/map-amendment petition were approved by roll call. Conditions in staff packets will apply to the approvals. The project is modeled on a similar facility in Aurora and is intended to expand the city’s capacity to help people exit homelessness and access supportive services.