Wichita City Council members voted unanimously Tuesday to approve an agreement with the Wichita school district to buy a former elementary school building.

The city is planning to convert the former Park Elementary School at 1025 North Main into a Multi-Agency Center that will provide temporary shelter and services for the homeless.   The city is buying the two-story building for one dollar, which will be payable at closing.

Assistant City Manager Troy Anderson said over the next 30 to 60 days, city staff will go into the building to look at needed improvements and modifications to the building and determine the costs involved.   He said the state will have to approve the purchase, and there will also be an environmental review and consideration by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.    Anderson said it’s hoped that everything will be ready by mid-November so the city can close on the property and begin renovations made to have an emergency shelter ready for next winter.

Talking about the purchase price, Anderson noted that the building was paid for with taxpayer dollars, so using tax money again would put the burden on taxpayer dollars twice.  He said a monetary value has to be assigned to legally secure the transaction.

Concerns have been raised about the impact of the shelter on the surrounding neighborhood, and Council Member Mike Hoheisel said this project is not about building a homeless shelter, it’s about trying to cure a problem.   He said it will be a place where people can get help and get back on their feet, and the city will go the extra mile to ensure the safety of the neighborhood.    Mayor Lily Wu said this will be a location to help people launch into new opportunities, and the vision is to reduce homelessness to functional zero.  She is urging the faith-based community to help in gathering resources for the Multi-Agency Center.