POCATELLO — A long-vacant downtown office building will be converted into a warming shelter this winter, with plans to develop affordable housing units for area residents and families.
The former Convergys call center at 805 N. Main St. has sat vacant for about five years. But after a purchase agreement to sell the property to Housing Alliance and Community Partnership, or HACP, a quasi-governmental housing authority, the agency is making progress to develop the 53,000-square-foot property.
HACP Director Jared Mangum said the agency plans to convert a portion of the main floor into 40 all-inclusive studio apartments priced at about $600 a month while opening a separate section this month as an overnight warming shelter operated with the assistance of Valley Mission.
“As the housing authority in this area, our task is to serve people who are underserved,” Mangum said. “We’re trying to provide real solutions to housing problems in the community, not just projects that look good on paper.”
The warming shelter is expected to open later this month and will operate on nights when temperatures drop below 30 degrees. Valley Mission has agreed to handle the day-to-day operations, and its board has agreed to pay for an overnight security guard.
The warming shelter will primarily operate out of the former employee break room in the basement, which is accessible through a side entrance where the former smoking area was located. The space has vinyl flooring and will be divided by partition walls for separate sleeping spaces for men and women and two smaller rooms are being set aside for people who are ill or need to be isolated from the rest of the group. Volunteer staff will be on duty during the warming shelter’s hours of operation,
Under the current plan, guests will be able to check in around 7:30 p.m., with the doors closing to new arrivals at 10:30 p.m. Guests will be able to sleep through the night and will be asked to leave in the early morning around 7 or 8 a.m. when staff and volunteers clean the space. The warming shelter will be for adults only.
“If there is a family that needs housing, we’re looking at leasing one of our property units to Valley Mission,” Mangum said. “The family would be basically renting the unit from HACP for four months.”
Mangum is seeking donations of cots, sleeping gear and store-bought meals that can be handed out to guests. The shelter is expected to run until around March or April, once the weather improves.
While the warming shelter addresses an immediate need, especially after the closure of the only one remaining in Pocatello, the project’s primary focus will be to provide long-term affordable housing.
The former Convergys building totals more than 53,000 square feet, including a basement and upper floor. The structure includes a fire suppression system, ADA-compliant bathrooms and an elevator.
HACP plans to build 40 studio apartments on the main floor, each with a combined living and bedroom area, private bathroom with a shower and a small kitchenette. Laundry services will be available via coin- or card-operated machines. Mangum also said there may be opportunities to include small shared community spaces. The project would also include a commercial space like a bistro or coffee shop to adhere to the commercial zoning requirements of the lot.
Rent is expected to be $600 per month, including utilities. Mangum said the project differs from many typical “affordable housing” developments built by for-profit companies using tax credit programs. In those cases, only about 30 percent of the units are required to be rented to low-income households, while the remaining 70 percent can be leased at market rates.
Mangum said the agency intends to keep all of the planned new units focused on low-income residents and is attempting to fund it without relying on traditional government subsidies.
“It’s basically a blank slate,” Mangum said. “What I’ve been working on is trying to get the architects and engineers to get a plan together so that we can submit it to the city. And all we got to do is just start building. If there’s any demo or construction that they need to do with the plumbing or some of the other stuff, that might be the only thing that we have to do.”
The agency is financing the project through a wrap loan from the previous owners, who made a $250,000 donation and extended a $250,000 loan at 0 percent interest, according to Mangum. The arrangement allows HACP to access more than $1 million in private funding if needed, but Mangum hopes to find alternative solutions to complete the project through donations or community fundraising.
“We have all of this ability, but we would really like to get funding through non-subsidized ways,” Mangum said. “We’re trying to do this without having to tap into government funds, because if we do that, then they have a say in how we have to operate it. And to be able to address some of the concerns of the city, we have to try to do this without that kind of control.”
The studio units are just the first phase of a broader plan. Over the next five years, Mangum and HACP hope to build five additional housing complexes on adjacent land and parking lots it controls near the building.
“Because of how we’re structured, we have the flexibility to address housing issues a little more uniquely,” Mangum said. “Our goal is to look at subpopulations in this area who don’t qualify for subsidies but still desperately need housing options.”
Those housing developments would target specific groups who often fall through the cracks of traditional subsidy programs. Mangum said he would like to work with nonprofits like Bannock Youth Foundation and School District 25 to help house homeless youth under 18. Mangum’s focus would also include veterans who do not qualify for housing subsidies, working with the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes for Native American college students attending ISU and providing married students with affordable family-sized housing.
Mangum credits the involvement of nonprofits and organizations like Valley Mission, SEICAA, Aid For Friends and Southeast Idaho Council of Governments as well as the city of Pocatello for its collaborative efforts to help bring affordable housing units to the underserved.
“It’s about what we can do to help the community,” Mangum said. “What can we do together and how can we get the community involved? That’s kind of the philosophy, that’s what we’re pushing for. We just need to focus on what we can do right now and how we can work together.”