Compass Center plans 7-story building

At the Ballard District Council meeting Wednesday night, the Compass Center previewed their plans to build a facility for the homeless at the now-empty lot at 1753 NW 56th St. The 7-story building will feature 80 units of permanent housing for both homeless men and women. (Earlier plans were for a women-only facility.) “We have no worries about filling 80 units of housing,” said M.J. Kiser with the Compass Center. “We’re just anxious to get it up and going.” The facility will be staffed around the clock, and Kiser said they’ll offer support services including treatment for mental health and substance abuse. “I know we’ll have some of the folks from Ballard, but unfortunately we have 80 units, and there are more than 80 homeless folks in Ballard,” she said.

As for when the facility will open, the Compass Center said they expect to finish construction in February of 2012. In the meantime, they plan to level the ground and plant grass in the empty lot. One neighbor at the council meeting, Michael Wolf, asked if he could suggest ideas for the empty lot in the meantime. Some of the ideas, he told us after the meeting, include a community garden, public art or just a place for people to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee. Compass Center organizers said they invite ideas from the neighborhood, so stay tuned.