The Erie City Mission’s plan to convert a shuttered Millcreek Township elementary school into a housing facility for women and children in need is poised to move forward with the township’s zoning officials.
Matthew Puz, Millcreek Township’s zoning and development officer, said no public appeal opposing the project’s zoning request was filed by the May 18 deadline for doing so.
That means “the developer is permitted to proceed for approval by the (Millcreek) Zoning Hearing Board for a Special Exception,” Puz told the Erie Times-News via e-mail.
The former Mount Carmel Elementary School at 1553 East Grandview Blvd. in Millcreek Township.
Brian Johansson, the City Mission’s CEO, said the nonprofit “will file our application next week” and hopes to go before Millcreek’s Zoning Hearing Board as early as June.
Zoning approval necessary
The City Mission’s proposed new shelter at the former Our Lady of Mount Carmel Elementary School, 1553 East Grandview Blvd, is contingent upon Millcreek Township signing off on zoning use permissions.
The area is zoned for residential use, and the type of housing-based facility that the City Mission wants to create is not a specific use permitted in that area under township zoning rules.
Puz, however, has issued a preliminary zoning opinion which states township zoning laws allow for property uses there that are “similar to and compatible with” uses permitted/authorized in the zoning district previously that do not conflict “with the general purpose” of Millcreek’s zoning laws.
Puz wrote that the City Mission project “qualifies as an acceptable use” under township zoning rules.
City Mission seeks shelter collaborations
The City Mission is a faith-based nonprofit that helps those affected by homelessness, poverty and addiction. The organization wants to create housing for up to 70 individuals at the Mount Carmel site, which has been closed since the 2016-17 school year.
Brian Johansson, chief executive office of the Erie City Mission.
The nonprofit has offered to purchase the school building and related acreage from Mount Carmel’s parish for $1.8 million, Johansson said. The City Mission has also raised “several million dollars” privately for the project.
The property purchase, Johansson has said, is also contingent upon zoning approval.
Johansson said he has spoken with representatives of a number of Erie-area nonprofits who work with the homeless and/or women/children in crisis about collaborating on the project.
Those organizations include the Mercy Center for Women;SafeNet; Erie’s Women’s Care Center; and Erie DAWN.
Documents that the City Mission submitted to Millcreek officials state the Mount Carmel project would benefit women and children who “may enter the program for a variety of reasons, including domestic struggles, human trafficking, addiction and economic hardship that can lead to job loss and eviction.”
The school building provides nearly 39,000 square feet of space, and renovations would create a “dormitory-style housing facility” that would also include, but not be limited to, a laundry; childcare space; a new kitchen for residents; a day room; dining space; upgraded bathrooms; locker rooms; and other amenities.
The school’s existing gymnasium would be maintained for recreation, according to documents submitted by the City Mission.
Previous coverage: Erie nonprofits could team up to aid women, children at new shelter
Contact Kevin Flowers at kflowers@timesnews.com. Follow him on X at@ETNflowers.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie City Mission seeks zoning approval this summer for new shelter