A former trucking company training facility in Cedar Rapids is getting a new life as housing for people who have been living without shelter. Volunteers are painting and furnishing rooms at The Commons on 16th, a former CRST training facility that is set to open in November, CBS 2 Iowa reported.
The project
The Commons will have 65 individual units for single adults referred through Cedar Rapids' coordinated entry system, according to CBS 2. Rent is $550 a month, with rental assistance available for residents who can't pay on their own. Residents will get 12-month leases they can renew as needed.
The program is designed for people who need more time and support than an emergency shelter offers. Services will include behavioral health care, substance use treatment, peer support and coordination of physical health care. Partners including Linn County Public Health, Eastern Iowa Health Center and the Abbe Center are expected to help provide them.
A tight deadline
"We're in a really tight turnaround, so we need to be up and running by November 16th. There's a lot of work to be done, so we're really grateful for these volunteers," said J'nae Peterman, homeless systems manager for Linn County.
Peterman said the plan is to have all the rooms painted and furnished by the end of the week. United Way of East Central Iowa organized a "Week of Impact" bringing local companies together to clean, paint and furnish the building, and close to 100 volunteers are expected to help, according to CBS 2.
How it's funded
The Commons is a three-year pilot. Organizers will use it to see how the program fits with existing services and whether it can reduce how long people spend living unsheltered, CBS 2 reported. Funding comes from city and county support, rental revenue and local philanthropy.
Peterman said people who have spent years outdoors may need time to adjust. "They really need that more intensive service to know what it means to live indoors again, help them connect to additional services and then move back out in the community," she said.
Reusing what's already there
Reusing an existing building rather than building new is a big part of how the county can aim for an opening just weeks out. The visible work this week is cleaning, painting and furnishing rooms. CBS 2 did not report the scope of any construction or renovation beyond the volunteer work, or its cost.
Why it matters for contractors
Adaptive reuse of existing buildings for supportive and transitional housing is a growing piece of the market, and The Commons is a good example of why. Cities and counties under pressure to add housing quickly are looking at vacant buildings that already have the bones for individual units, such as former dorms, hotels, training centers and offices.
For contractors, those projects usually mean renovation work rather than new construction: life-safety and fire alarm upgrades, accessibility improvements, plumbing and HVAC work, finishes and furnishings. The schedules can be tight, as Peterman's Nov. 16 deadline shows, and budgets often come from a mix of public money and philanthropy, so efficiency and clear pricing matter.
The pilot structure matters too. If The Commons shows results over three years, Linn County and Cedar Rapids may look for more buildings to convert, which could mean more renovation work for eastern Iowa contractors. Firms that want to be part of that should get to know the county's homeless services staff and nonprofit partners, and be ready to move fast when a building becomes available.