A church’s dream to build a three-story complex to house 80 to 100 single men who are on the edge of homelessness faced a thrashing Monday night at a community meeting on the project that devolved into screaming and expletives directed toward the church’s pastor and the project’s developer.
The development at Mountain View Church of the Brethren (2823 N. Cole Road) sought to provide a home and support network for those who had substance or alcohol issues, social skills issues or are on probation or parole.
“The existing church would own and manage the property with the goal of assisting those who can hold a job but are close to going into homelessness and willing to improve their work skills, character discipline, social skills and spiritual life,” according to a city of Boise summary.
The complex would build 27 dorms with three or four bedrooms each, a car repair shop and space for skills development, training, alcoholics anonymous meetings and programs from nonprofit organizations. The buildings would transform a vacant, triangular parcel on the church’s property near the Idaho Capital Asian Market.