LYNN — Since 2011, young people facing housing instability in the city have gone to the Haven Project for support.
“We’ll help come up with any viable options for housing,” Haven Project Executive Director Tracey Scherrer Friedman said.
The long-sought addition of the Haven Project’s own housing option, called Catalyst Housing, might soon be under construction since being in development as early as 2018, according to Scherrer Friedman.
“It’s a lot longer process than we thought,” Scherrer Friedman said. “We thought we’d be under construction already.”
The planned project would build 23 studio apartments for extremely-low-income 18-24-year-olds on the third and fourth floors of 57 Munroe St., above the Haven Project-operated Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee Co.
Each floor of the new space, which had previously been used for everything from storage to a paintball course, will feature community spaces and case-management offices along with the studio apartments, as well as one unit for a live-in resident manager.
The new development is a joint venture with Harborlight Homes. Kristin Carlson, director of real estate development at Harborlight Homes, said the project is the company’s first to cater to young adults.
“We’re excited to build this because there’s not a lot else out there, there’s not a lot of other options,” Carlson said.
According to Scherrer Friedman, construction will hopefully commence in spring 2024, with an anticipated 2025 opening.
“It’s something we’re trying to get done as soon as possible,” she said. “We know how many housing-unstable people are literally street homeless… It’s hard, but we’re trying to do what we can to help with the problem.”
According to Scherrer Friedman, though housing at Catalyst is a stable long-term option for Haven’s clients, the ultimate goal is for those living there to eventually move out and into apartments and homes.
“It is permanent supportive housing, so we’re not ever kicking them out,” Scherrer Friedman said. “We don’t want them to really stay here… We want them to use this as a tool to get where they really want to go.”
The Haven Project’s Catalyst Project will transform the third and fourth floors of 57 Munroe St. into living space for 23 people without homes.
