Cincinnati officials plan to partner with 3CDC on two projects related to providing services to people experiencing homelessness.
In the short-term, the city will help 3CDC purchase the St. Francis Seraph Catholic Church and the St. Anthony Center, to preserve current efforts.
In the long-term, 3CDC will help the city with site selection and development on a city-owned Center of Care as a permanent home for these homelessness services, plus expansion to more programs.
"The next steps include building out the financials, working to identify a location for the new Center of Care that is near Downtown, and solidifying the partner organizations who will participate," said Mayor Aftab Pureval. "The final product has the potential to reshape what service delivery looks like in Cincinnati and improve the lives of so many of our vulnerable residents."
Homelessness in the area has increased each year for the last three years, according to Kevin Finn of Strategies to End Homelessness.
"Because our homeless shelters don't magically have more beds when homelessness increases, we have seen the majority of that increase in terms of people sleeping unsheltered on the street, which is why these services are so critical that they continue," Finn said.
Purchase of St. Francis
The St. Francis Seraph Catholic Church on Liberty St., in Over-the-Rhine held its last mass in June. The Franciscan Friars of the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe announced the permanent closure in January, according to our news partner WCPO, and planned a public sale.
The sale also includes the Franciscan Media Center, as well as the St. Anthony Center on Republic St., where St. Francis Seraph Ministries and a few other nonprofits offer services to people experiencing homelessness, including meals, foot care, showers and other hygiene access, and behavioral health services.
"We didn't want the life-saving services, the human dignity services that are happening there right now to go away because of the sale," Pureval said. "So we wanted to act quickly to provide some certainty there for the service providers."
Sofie Snauwaert is board president of St. Francis Seraph Ministries. She says this plan is a continuation of the organization's mission and work.
"We will continue to serve our clients during this transition period and until we move," she said. "And we really look forward to building an even stronger network of care for our community."
Pureval says he will ask City Council to approve $4 million from the Tax Increment Financing district for the purchase; 3CDC will cover the rest of the roughly $5 million sale.
City Council is on summer recess but will return for one week at the beginning of August; the proposal is expected to be up for a vote at that time.
Five of nine City Council members, a majority, attended Monday's press conference announcing the plans.
Plans for a city 'Center of Care'
City officials first announced plans for what they were calling a "day center" in spring 2025.
Council ultimately appropriated $5.5 million to purchase a property that would act as a resource for people experiencing homelessness during the day, when emergency overnight shelters are closed.
Initially the city planned to buy and renovate a building on West Fifth Street in Queensgate, across the street from the men's overnight shelter operated by Shelterhouse. Those plans fell through.
"What we struggled with was the development side, was the acquisition of the real estate and developing the actual physical structure," Pureval said. "When the Friars decided to sell this building, it was a really good timing to bring 3CDC on as the developer of a future Center of Care because they have the expertise that the city doesn't.
3CDC previously developed the Shelterhouse Barron Center for Men in Queensgate, Hatton Center for Women in Mt. Auburn, and the City Gospel Mission.
"Our role in this project directly builds on our proven track record," said 3CDC chief operation officer Paula Boggs Muething, a former Cincinnati City Manager.
Boggs Muething says it will be a "one-stop shop" approach to providing services, reducing the need for a person in crisis to travel to several locations.
"The Center of Care model will allow for coordination among service providers and wraparound support that leads to the highest likelihood for success, facilitating the individuals who need assistance most to find expanded, coordinated, and dignified support in one place," she said.
The eventual Center of Care is expected to include many of the nonprofits currently operating at the St. Anthony Center, plus more.
The city hired Neil Tilow, former CEO of Talbert House, as a consultant on the project about 10 months ago. He says research included looking at models across the country, as well as conversations with Cincinnati nonprofits and people directly experiencing homelessness.
"We identified six core services: mental health, addiction, workforce, government benefits, housing, and primary care," Tilow said. "Now we're going to be able to add the hygiene expertise and the social supports and food service, and other things that St. Francis offers."
The city is looking for a location "near the urban core" which could include Downtown, Over-the-Rhine, Queensgate, or the West End. Boggs Muething says once a location is identified, it will likely take up to 18 months to finish developing the center.
What will happen to the St. Francis church building?
Once the city's Center of Care is open, 3CDC will redevelop the property on Liberty St., including the historic St. Francis Seraph Church building.
Officials say they have no specific plans in mind, and the possible uses for the building will depend on many factors.
Mayor Pureval says getting local control over the site is important.
"Cincinnati, unfortunately, has seen decades of out-of-town developers getting control of sites, and unintended consequences happening," he said. "Maybe they just sit on it and don't redevelop it, and it sits vacant and therefore attracts crime. Maybe it's redeveloped for a use that city leaders don't necessarily agree with, and neither does the neighborhood. So that's all part of the strategy here."
3CDC will hold the title to the property, but Pureval says the city is the chief stakeholder in deciding what the eventual redevelopment will include. He says they'll get input from the community.
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