John Holland/[email protected]
A contractor could transform an old downtown Riverbank house into a service center for homeless people.
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The City Council will consider a $507,300 contract with Harris Builders Inc. of Hilmar on Tuesday evening.
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The vacant two-story house at Sierra and Fourth streets dates to the early 1900s. It needs a complete redo — plumbing, wiring, flooring, windows, insulation, roofing, bathrooms, kitchen and more. New paint would adorn the shiplap siding. The front entrance would get a wheelchair ramp.
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The house would not provide overnight shelter, but homeless clients could do laundry, take showers and get social services. The nonprofit Cambridge Academies would provide help with substance abuse counseling, job searches and permanent housing.
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The city owns the building, now known as Sierra House. The renovation would be funded by the Emergency Solutions Grants program at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
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Riverbank had 18 of the 2,091 homeless people counted in Stanislaus County in late January. HUD requires the annual tally for locales seeking grants. Modesto has an outsized share of the total because of its proximity to services.
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The council will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 25, in the chambers at 6707 Third St. Instructions for participating remotely are at www.riverbank.org/AgendaCenter. Click on the agenda and go to page 4.
John Holland covers agriculture, transportation and general assignment news. He has been with The Modesto Bee since 2000 and previously worked at newspapers in Sonora and Visalia. He was born and raised in San Francisco and has a journalism degree from UC Berkeley.