With tentative approval for a conditional use permit awaiting a final decision from Emporia city commissioners, Southwick House is moving foward with plans to buy property for its long-awaited transitional housing space.
Last week, the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission gave its blessing to Southwick House’s purchase of 115 East Logan. City commissioners could well give final approval at their meeting June 7.
On KVOE’s Newsmaker segment Wednesday, Southwick House Executive Director Susan Brinkman said the decision to pick the East Logan address followed conversations about possibly renovating spaces at other locations as well as “new fresh builds.” Brinkman says the location — and the projected space, roughly 9,000 square feet on nearly seven acres — lets Southwick House meet a range of needs the agency’s predecessor, Plumb Place, couldn’t meet when it was serving the community for nearly a century before it closed four years ago.
Plumb Place concentrated its mission on women in crisis, with services including emergency shelter, transitional housing, case management, life skills education and therapy groups.
Now that the tentative location has been announced, Southwick House is getting started on a $3.6 million campaign to both buy the property and build the facility. Brinkman says the Sunflower Foundation, Capital Federal Foundation, Patterson Legal Services, United Way of the Flint Hills and other have already donated. Southwick House is also taking over the organization mantle from Walnut Elementary for the Turkey Day Dash, which will take place in November.
More information is available at southwickhouse.org.
