FORT SMITH (KFSM) – A state agency has approved $695,000 in grant money toward the building of a homeless clinic in Fort Smith, project organizers announced Wednesday.
The Arkansas Development Finance Authority signed off on the grants to the Old Fort Homeless Coalition for the construction of the Riverview Hope Campus. The facility is set to include a 75-bed emergency shelter, cafeteria, showers, classrooms, counseling rooms and other features for low-income or homeless patients who need mental or medical care.
The first phase of the project is estimated to cost $2.9 million and is set to include 35,000 square feet of renovations, as well as a 6,000-square-foot Medicaid clinic
The grants include $250,000 from the Arkansas Housing Trust Fund, $173,833.44 from the Mortgage Settlement Funds and $271,166.56 from Finance Adjustment Factor Funds. The grant money comes in addition to private money previously donated, along with $350,000 pledged by Fort Smith’s Mercy Medical Center last month.
The Old Fort Homeless Coalition is seeking an architect for the project and has started the process for purchasing the building at 301 E. St. for the project, according to the coalition.
