‘What we need is community support’: Advisory panel nixes fixed-site homeless shelter in Gurnee

A plan to repurpose the FairBridge Inn hotel on Grand Avenue in Gurnee to a fixed-site homeless shelter was rejected by an advisory panel last week leaving the village board with final say on the hot-button issue.

In a mixed ruling, the village’s planning and zoning board unanimously recommended adding “emergency shelter” as a special use in the East Grand Gateway Overlay District, a busy area between the Waukegan city limit and Route 41.

But the commission by a 4-1 vote recommended against a request by PADS Lake County to buy the old hotel at 3732-3740 Grand Ave., to establish and operate a homeless shelter for single adults.

Commissioner David Nordentoft said compatibility with adjacent property was a special use standard and key consideration.

“We’ve held that standard to a lot of other projects in Gurnee over the years and I don’t see any reason why we should view this any differently,” he said.

Chairman James Sula, the lone vote in favor, said the proposal “checks a lot of the boxes” for improving the corridor and streetscape by upgrading landscaping, removing a Grand Avenue access and property renovations.

The recommendations capped a marathon six-hour public hearing last week in a packed meeting room at Gurnee village hall. The village board tentatively will consider both recommendations Aug. 19.

Supporters said the project would represent a needed $7 million investment in the commercial corridor and a more effective way to respond to a growing homeless crisis.

“We can’t tackle homelessness by ourselves. What we need is community support,” said Allen Swilley, PADS executive director.

Opponents said they fear an increase in crime, panhandling and loitering and other potential impacts on the residential areas bordering the corridor. Many agreed homelessness was an issue that needs to be addressed but not at this location.

“The PADS goal is a good one but this is the wrong place for this facility,” said Jerry Laux, who said he has owned and operated Gurnee Garden Center, which abuts the hotel property, for 51 years. “It doesn't belong in a residential, retail business neighborhood.”

Laux said several female employees told him they would quit if the project is built.

Since the COVID pandemic, PADS shifted from traditional rotating church sites to a temporary hotel model. The fixed-site approach presents the best way to deliver services and address the root of homelessness, according to PADS.

“This is no longer viable, nor should it be,” Swilley said of the church model.

The agency says homelessness has become an entrenched social problem requiring government, businesses and nonprofits to collaborate to change a system that perpetuates the situation.

As proposed, the 24-hour supervised operation would offer secure shelter for a maximum of 90 adults in 10 units on each floor. Each room would hold two to three residents with access to a private bathroom and sleeping quarters. Visitors would not be allowed.

Residents would be required to participate in programming including mental health services, employment and workforce development, substance abuse rehabilitation if applicable and life skills groups, according to PADS.