photo by: Eric Ayres

Architect Wendy Scatterday appears Monday night before the Wheeling Planning Commission as she presents preliminary plans for YWCA Wheeling’s proposed re-entry facility for women in recovery called Cathy’s Haven.

WHEELING — The Wheeling Planning Commission granted site plan approval Monday night for YWCA Wheeling’s proposed new $7 million re-entry facility for women in Center Wheeling.

Planning Commission members reviewed the proposed site plan for 2345 Chapline St., where the YWCA intends to construct a new three-story structure to house a new facility called Cathy’s Haven. The property located near the U.S. Post Office is currently a vacant lot at the corner of 24th and Chapline streets between the Post Office and Carin’s Pub. The property was donated to the YWCA, officials noted.

“Cathy’s Haven is an offshoot of our women in recovery program,” said Lori Jones, executive director of YWCA Wheeling. “The target population are people coming out of prisons with addiction problems who are in recovery. Primarily it’s a six-month program — it’s self-paced, though. It will help people restart their lives and have the tools necessary to live a sober life.”

Architect Wendy Scatterday gave members of the Wheeling Planning Commission a preliminary overview of the plans for the U-shaped building, which is expected to have three stories, plus a lower level.

“It was determined by the city solicitor that its classification is as a group home,” Scatterday explained, noting that the facility will have 20 residential rooms – not apartments or townhouses. Each of the rooms will have a bathroom, with 10 residents on two different floors.

There will be community spaces, including shared common areas on each floor, as well as an outdoor courtyard. The property will be fenced and secure, and there will be a minimal number of parking spaces needed in light of the group home classification because most of the residents in the program will not have vehicles.

“The intent is that it’s a place where they’re safe and where they can be successful in transforming their lives on their own with the help of the wraparound services,” Scatterday said. “It’s directly on one of the main bus lines, so that’s very helpful for the folks that will be using the building and residing here during their time.”

Scatterday also addressed storm water management, noting that a storm water retaining system will be created to contain storm water and slowly release it according to city, state and federal regulations. Zoning in this section of Center Wheeling is EMO – Education, Medical and Office.

Plans will need to undergo review by the West Virginia State Historic Preservation Office because it is located within a historic district, Scatterday added.

“The way that works is when you’re building a new building, they don’t want you to build a new building trying to pretend that it’s an old building,” she said. “But they do want you to build a new building that is contextually sensitive to the historic neighborhood that you’re placed in.”

Members of the Planning Commission granted both preliminary and final site plan approval during Monday night’s meeting following the review. This will allow them to proceed with work by the project engineers and to get them in a position to move forward with the plans for future construction.

“I think this is a huge win for our community,” said Wheeling City Councilman Ben Seidler, member of the planning commission.

Jones said they have a preliminary timeline for the development of Cathy’s Haven if all of the steps in the process move forward as planned. The project is expected to cost approximately $7 million, and funding has been secured through HOME-ARP money from the West Virginia Housing Development Fund, some New Market Tax Credits and other sources.

“Ideally, the drawings will be complete in June or July, we’ll go to bid in late July or August, we’ll break ground in September or October,” Jones said. “We’re looking at it to take a little over a year, and we’ll be in.”

Cathy’s Haven is named for YWCA supporter Cathy Rudner. The planned facility is intended to address what officials describe as an urgent need for housing dedicated to women in recovery and for their reentry.