CCS Getting A New Home
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
A local agency that helps area residents with emergency housing problems will be moving soon to a new home of its own.
Combined Community Services, now at 212 E. Market St., Warsaw, will move in a few months to a new location in a former garden center on Prairie Street.
Marty Courtney, CCS director, said she expects to sign final real estate papers on the new property next week.
CCS was notified in November by its landlord, Reub Williams & Sons Inc., that a buyer was interested in the Market Street property. CCS has been at the Market Street location rent-free since its inception in 1984.
Courtney said the new property has several advantages: the building is all on one level and features handicapped accessible entrances and restrooms, it includes room to expand, and it has plenty of parking space.
"It's just ideal for us," Courtney said.
Some remodeling will have to be done, she said, including removing some walls and adding others, putting in a drop ceiling, changing some windows and doors, enlarging the reception and lobby area, and adding a loft.
She said they hope to start working on the new building in August. The first tentatively scheduled work day is Aug. 16, with the goal of moving into the building in early October.
CCS bought the Prairie Street property at auction recently, and Courtney said the renovations will cost an estimated $30,000, which she hopes to have donated. Otherwise, the organization will need to have a capital fund drive to finance the remodeling.
One local church has already stepped in to help CCS with renovations costs. St. Anne's Episcopal Church, West Market Street in Warsaw, recently gave the charity a check for $10,000.
St. Anne's is undergoing a building project of its own, and part of the monies raised for that project were designated as outreach money and consigned to CCS, said Father Brian Grantz.
"St. Anne's has been involved with CCS from the beginning," Grantz said. "We have been deeply involved and deeply committed to what they do."
Services that CCS offers the community may expand next year, Courtney said, not necessarily because of the new building but mainly because of the need to help working parents with child care and transportation, on top of what they already provide for housing, utilities and food.
"There's really not enough help out there for families," Courtney said. CCS's vision statement says that the charity will act as a "catalyst for change in peoples' lives," she said. Helping them get on their feet after a financial emergency often includes helping them find affordable, quality child care or an inexpensive way to get to work.
And changing office buildings, with more space for food and clothing storage and more room for client parking ("Parking has always been an issue here," Courtney said), should help CCS live up to its vision statement.
Courtney said the organization will remain open with uninterrupted services except for an anticipated two or three days before the moving date. [[In-content Ad]]
A local agency that helps area residents with emergency housing problems will be moving soon to a new home of its own.
Combined Community Services, now at 212 E. Market St., Warsaw, will move in a few months to a new location in a former garden center on Prairie Street.
Marty Courtney, CCS director, said she expects to sign final real estate papers on the new property next week.
CCS was notified in November by its landlord, Reub Williams & Sons Inc., that a buyer was interested in the Market Street property. CCS has been at the Market Street location rent-free since its inception in 1984.
Courtney said the new property has several advantages: the building is all on one level and features handicapped accessible entrances and restrooms, it includes room to expand, and it has plenty of parking space.
"It's just ideal for us," Courtney said.
Some remodeling will have to be done, she said, including removing some walls and adding others, putting in a drop ceiling, changing some windows and doors, enlarging the reception and lobby area, and adding a loft.
She said they hope to start working on the new building in August. The first tentatively scheduled work day is Aug. 16, with the goal of moving into the building in early October.
CCS bought the Prairie Street property at auction recently, and Courtney said the renovations will cost an estimated $30,000, which she hopes to have donated. Otherwise, the organization will need to have a capital fund drive to finance the remodeling.
One local church has already stepped in to help CCS with renovations costs. St. Anne's Episcopal Church, West Market Street in Warsaw, recently gave the charity a check for $10,000.
St. Anne's is undergoing a building project of its own, and part of the monies raised for that project were designated as outreach money and consigned to CCS, said Father Brian Grantz.
"St. Anne's has been involved with CCS from the beginning," Grantz said. "We have been deeply involved and deeply committed to what they do."
Services that CCS offers the community may expand next year, Courtney said, not necessarily because of the new building but mainly because of the need to help working parents with child care and transportation, on top of what they already provide for housing, utilities and food.
"There's really not enough help out there for families," Courtney said. CCS's vision statement says that the charity will act as a "catalyst for change in peoples' lives," she said. Helping them get on their feet after a financial emergency often includes helping them find affordable, quality child care or an inexpensive way to get to work.
And changing office buildings, with more space for food and clothing storage and more room for client parking ("Parking has always been an issue here," Courtney said), should help CCS live up to its vision statement.
Courtney said the organization will remain open with uninterrupted services except for an anticipated two or three days before the moving date. [[In-content Ad]]