Title
Resolution to Waive $75,000.00 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) 1997 Mortgage for Ozone House's Youth Shelter at 1705 Washtenaw Avenue
Memorandum
Ozone House purchased the house at 1705 Washtenaw Avenue in 1997 to develop a shelter for youth experiencing homelessness. At the time, they requested and received a loan of $75,000.00 the City of Ann Arbor Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program for acquisition and rehab of the property for that use. The loan conditions indicated that if the property is sold, or the use changed from a shelter to another use, that the $75,000.00 be repaid without interest. Ozone House is requesting that City Council forgive the $75,000.00 mortgage without repayment, as they are not eliminating but expanding the regional youth shelter albeit in a different location.
Ozone House is currently in the process of consolidating locations and expanding services to a new location currently under construction in the City of Ypsilanti. To prepare for consolidation, Ozone House listed the house at 1705 for sale, and has found a buyer looking to close on the property on or before September 20, 2019.
Below is information from Ozone House on the consolidation of locations and expansion of services planned for the new location:
Since our founding nearly 50 years ago, Ozone House has added and expanded our programs intentionally and through collaboration with community partners. However, our physical space has not kept pace with demand and must be brought up to best practices to effectively serve the youth of our community. Our new "home" will be a single campus for our emergency shelter, housing and support services that increases accessibility and efficiency, and promotes shared resources.
We are undertaking this project for several reasons:
* The quality of our facilities needs to reflect the quality of our services. Our current emergency shelter and transitional housing facilities are old homes that require constant ...
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