FALL RIVER — The city has long faced the question of how best to approach the crisis of unhoused residents living outdoors, in encampments, or in their personal vehicles. And an alternative to finding beds to shelter the city’s homeless during the coldest months is quickly coming into view on Rock Street.
The building at 210 and 212 Rock St. that houses Walsh Pharmacy — a fixture close to the city’s center where a handful of lawyers’ offices, residential homes, and municipal buildings have taken root — has come under city ownership and Community Development Agency oversight since July. The nonprofit affordable housing organization Community Housing Resource Board would oversee it.
The two-story property will bring 24 single-room occupancy units for citizens in transition from homelessness. It is due for renovations over the course of the next year; meanwhile, the pharmacy on the first floor has plans to vacate the building during that timeframe…