Lake County homeless center to relocate to Waukegan
A prominent resource center for homeless people in Lake County is moving, officials announced.
The PADS Lake County organization is closing its daytime center in North Chicago and opening a facility in Waukegan.
The new center will be at 1800 Grand Ave., one block east of Lewis Avenue. The transition should occur this summer, but an exact date hasn't been determined yet, said Joel Williams, PADS Lake County's executive director.
The Waukegan building is being given to PADS by the Esper A. Petersen Foundation, which owns the property.
"Our goal for the use of this building was always to benefit the community," the foundation's Esper A. Petersen Jr. said in a news release. "PADS was a logical fit for this building, and we are very pleased that we could provide them with it."
PADS has operated a daytime center at the Lovell Federal Health Care Center in North Chicago since 1998, back when it was known as the North Chicago Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Before then, the organization's daytime facility and offices were in downtown Waukegan.
But the group's lease at the Lovell Center is ending and the space is needed for other purposes, Williams said.
The new site is a 7,500-square-foot, two-story building. It's now used by HealthReach, a nonprofit free medical clinic.
That agency is merging with a different organization and leaving the Grand Avenue space, Williams said.
The Grand Avenue building is near a bus stop, which was important to PADS officials searching for a new site.
"Our main focus was on locations near public transportation," Williams said.
The Grand Avenue building was "heads and shoulders above" other sites considered for a new center, he said.
It will allow PADS to upgrade its facilities and improve services and work flow, Williams said.
Until the new center opens, homeless people seeking assistance can continue visiting the Lovell Center office, 3001 Green Bay Road, Building 5.