Newport
“We are looking for properties that can be purchased or leased at a total project cost under $500,000 that allows us to address the grant funding requirements,” County Manager Jessie Levine said in an email. “While our first choice is Claremont due to the easy access to jobs, school, transportation and support services, we are also looking in other parts of the county.”
The transitional housing project proposed for 169 Main St. would have had dormitory-style housing for 16 male residents and eight female residents.
The voluntary housing program would be for former inmates who were incarcerated for substance abuse and had completed the TRAILS program (Transitional Reentry and Inmate Life Skills) in jail.
Levine said the initial estimate to renovate the building came in at $1.3 million, which included the third floor and an elevator. But Levine removed the third floor and elevator, hoping to drop the cost to around $800,000.
Of that amount, the county was looking for grants to cover all but $100,000, which would be the county’s share.
The county was also trying to negotiate a lower lease rate with the landlord.
But on Monday, the county was informed by the architect the renovations costs were still in excess of $1 million, primarily because the water supply and heating system needed upgrades, Levine said.
“If we went forward, we’d be asking both grant-funders for their maximum possible grant and quadrupling the county’s share,” Levine wrote. “All of this would require us to lease the space for free for the funding to be attractive to the grantors and our delegation. The numbers were just too high on both sides of the equation.”
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.
