The city of Grants Pass awarded MINT a grant in December to buy two properties containing the two buildings the nonprofit had been leasing.
But in January, the city鈥檚 new leadership revoked that $660,000 grant.
On Wednesday, MINT bought one of the properties anyway, partially funded by a $100,000 grant from AllCare Health.
MINT board president Dr. Scott Nelson said owning the property will allow the nonprofit to make some much-needed repairs on the two buildings.
鈥淭his has been a work in progress for a year and a half, and while there鈥檚 a lot of work that needs to be done on the buildings, we鈥檙e moving forward with that, and this just gives us the confidence to continue,鈥� he said.
When city councilors rescinded the grant in January, they expressed concern about the state of the buildings, which need extensive work.
An found that one of the buildings contained asbestos, rot and mold and needed a new roof. The other building requires additional maintenance and has a leaking roof.
Various local volunteers have offered time and materials to work on the building, Nelson said, and the nonprofit is also fundraising.
MINT Executive Director Cassy Leach said owning the property allows MINT to apply for various funding streams to upgrade the buildings.
MINT will continue to provide an emergency weather shelter and other homeless services at the site. In addition, the group is raising money to put 20 tiny homes on the site for medically fragile homeless people.
There has been some discussion of opening a homeless shelter at the site, but those conversations seem to have paused.
鈥淚f the community felt like it was appropriate to open a shelter, we鈥檇 be more than happy to, but ultimately, what we鈥檙e going to do, I think, remains to be seen for that space,鈥� Leach said. 鈥淲e will shift to bridge whatever gap is present.鈥�
She said owning this property provides a home not only for the nonprofit but also for homeless people.
鈥淚 love that they have a place that they can call home, and they feel comfortable there,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e invested in it. I鈥檇 wake everyone up from the warming center and feed them and start cleaning up as people were getting up. And without fail, I have 10 unhoused people helping me. It鈥檚 beautiful.鈥�
The property, called Parker鈥檚 Place, is just over half an acre and located near Bi-Mart.
Leach and Nelson declined to say what MINT paid for the property. The county assessor did not yet have the sale price. It has been assessed at about $400,000.
MINT will pay the property owner, Thomas Parker, in installments over the next four years.
