(Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY – More shake-ups at Salt Lake County’s largest homeless shelter. The people who own it is announcing they’re selling it to the state.
The deal is being called a “win-win” from state officials and representatives of The Road Home Shelter. The Department of Workforce Services is purchasing the land for $4 million, and the shelter owners are getting funds they need to create new resource centers that will replace the current shelter.
The state didn’t have much competition for the site. Shelter The Homeless President Harris Simmons says they didn’t open the bidding process to anyone else.
“Because of the nature of what takes place here, [it was important] to ensure the needs of the homeless clients we’re serving here are well met,” Simmons says.
Simmons believes the DWS will be the best landlord for this transition period. During that time, the state will handle the operations of the shelter, help move the current staff and residents to the new centers and provide the money to build the new facilities.
“This is a very special need at a particularly sensitive time,” he says.
Lieutenant Governor Spencer Cox says owning the property puts the state in the best position to handle the transition.
He says, “What we need now and over the next eight or nine months, as we get close to that, is to be working with the individuals who will be moving from the Road Home to the new resource centers.”
So, what’s going to happen to the shelter once it closes? Cox says the state and Salt Lake City have hopes for the site.
“I think it’s important we use it for public facilities, if we can,” Cox says.