Old motel, fresh start

There's no place like a home for the holidays or anytime, even if it's just going to be a home for a while.

So says a collaboration of social service agencies that are turning the old Frontier Motel at 3500 South and State Street into a 14-unit apartment complex for people making the transition from homelessness to steady employment and more stable lives.

The transition from homelessness to a regular rental and living situation is a big one, often too great, said Bill Erickson, president of Utah Housing Corp., which is helping build and finance the project.

"Projects like this give them a base to work from," he said. "It might take them a year or up to two years to get some money saved and their lives back together. Places like this give them the space to do that."

The complex is the latest step in a long-term move among area shelter providers to create more stable accommodations that will supplement emergency, short-term housing. The apartments will be brought on line over the next several weeks, although some are ready for occupation now, Erickson said.

They will be among 268 transitional units now in the Salt Lake Valley. A four-acre project is under way in Midvale that will have 22 dorm-like apartments, eight town homes, seven cottages and eight rent-to-own twin homes for about 120 single mothers and children.

An unusual aspect of the village, which was endorsed as the legacy for participants of a national volunteer conference held in Salt Lake City in July, is its focus on stability and consistency of a neighborhood as well as offering residents a chance to ultimately buy their houses.

Emergency shelter residents often complain they have trouble improving their lives because they are in a Catch-22 situation: They can't move on without a job, but employers won't take job applications without a permanent address or phone number.

"Having a roof over your head is important," a resident of The Road Home's expansion shelter in Midvale said. "But that's not enough to really turn things around."

The renovated motel will be ready to occupy next month. It includes 10 studios, one three-bedroom, one two-bedroom and two one-bedroom apartments.

To be admitted into the State Street complex, residents must agree to work with a job counselor who will help them assess their needs and figure out a workable plan to move them toward self-sufficiency.

Options to improve their education or job training will be offered as well as a variety of social service supports.

The project is sponsored by the Utah Housing Corp., The Road Home, Salt lake Council of Governments and Crusade for the Homeless. Financing has been provided by the housing corporation, Salt Lake County Division of Economic Development, the Olene Walker Housing Trust Fund, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Crusade for the Homeless.

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E-mail: jthalman@desnews.com