Building of complex for those with mental health disorders nearing start

YOUNGSTOWN

Construction on a more than $7 million North Side affordable housing complex for those with behavioral or substance-abuse disorders is expected to start in the spring.

The Marian Arms apartment complex project brought together multiple community agencies — Meridian Community Care, Compass Family and Community Services and the Help Hotline Crisis Center ­— to work on developing the 40-unit housing complex in the city.

“This is really a unique project that is bringing them all together combining them in one facility,” said Joseph Caruso, CEO and president of Compass. “It is an exemplary partnership.”

Construction is expected to take one year to complete.

The project received a $700,000 affordable housing grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati, $420,000 of which was awarded through Huntington Bank.

The facility will be located at the northwest corner of Madison Avenue and Covington Street, where the former Martin Luther King Elementary School was located.

Both Meridian Community Care and Compass operate facilities such as this one, but there is still a need for more, Caruso said.

Read more about the project in Wednesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.