Elgin panel endorses plan for Wayside Cross, PADS to expand services for homeless

An expansion plan that would allow Wayside Cross Ministries and PADS of Elgin to serve nearly double the number of people experiencing homelessness won approval from Elgin’s Planning and Zoning Commission on Monday.

Wayside owns the buildings at 1730-1740 Berkley St., and PADS is a tenant. Two other tenants plan to leave in the coming months, allowing Wayside and PADS to occupy the entire 21,175-square-foot, one-story building.

With the additional space, Wayside would be able to serve up to 70 people, up from the 30 beds they currently have. The services would be similar to their facility in Aurora, which provides five-step, faith-based housing and recovery programs for men and women.

PADS of Elgin provides overnight shelter and service coordination with other area agencies to offer training, education and healthcare needs to people experiencing homelessness.

If final approval is granted by the city, the expansion would allow the organization to increase the number of people it can serve from 30 to 48.

Elgin City Council members still need to vote on the proposal at a future meeting.

The move to expand at the Berkley Street location comes after Wayside’s effort to purchase a four-story office building at 890 N. State St. fell through. That plan was approved by the city council in December.

Elgin Wayside Center Director Dave Krieger said that when things didn’t work out there, the organization viewed the pending departure of its tenants as the next best option to serve more people.

“We are seeing an increase,” Krieger said of people seeking shelter.

The first phase of the expansion would primarily involve improvements to the inside of the building. Also, four parking spaces would be added, and several overhead garage doors would be closed off.

Phase two would include constructing a 600-square-foot addition to the front of the building for PADS. Also, space will be added behind the building for Wayside to create a donation center.

PADS is less than a year into a five-year lease.

“Our intention is to keep them,” said Steve Wise, Wayside’s general manager. “We want to work together.”

The plan requires variances from the city’s code for some setback requirements and the number of parking spaces.