Homeless Shelter Proposed On Joliet's West Side At Motel

JOLIET, IL — MorningStar Mission's executive director told Joliet Patch she has met with interim City Manager Jim Hock and Mayor Bob O'Dekirk to discuss her plans to purchase the Quality Inn & Suites on Larkin Avenue for additional emergency housing to address the rising homeless population on Joliet's west side.

Director Sandi Perzee is seeking special use permits from city of Joliet officials before the project can materialize. The city's zoning board may review the project Dec. 17, and the Joliet City Council may vote on the project Jan. 19, she said.

If the permits gain approval, Perzee intends to put the Quality Inn to use starting Jan. 20.

"Oh, we've got signed contracts, but (the building sale) is based on the special use permits," Perzee said Tuesday afternoon.

O'Dekirk said he has not taken a position in favor or opposed to the MorningStar Mission project yet.

"I think this will not be a popular idea, and I think most people would agree we have enough homeless shelters in Joliet," he said.

On the other hand, acquiring the Larkin Avenue motel would help MorningStar Mission "clear up the homeless issues that already exist in that area," the mayor said.

"This was not a city idea," O'Dekirk said. "This was done with the CARES Act funding ... we heard about it from MorningStar Mission."

(Joliet Patch article continues below photo of Sandi Perzee.)

Since the coronavirus health crisis began in March, Joliet's homeless population has soared, and many of the homeless people are living on the city's west side, close to the area of Larkin Avenue and McDonough Street, MorningStar Mission's director said.

If the project moves ahead, MorningStar Mission would convert the Joliet motel into temporary emergency shelter for men, women and children. The west side motel would only need a couple renovations: filling in the swimming pool and creating a commercial-style kitchen.

MorningStar Mission would purchase the motel with help through Will County government as part of the CARES Act. The CARES Act provides funds to local governments to cover costs created by the coronavirus public health emergency.

"The CARES Act would help make the acquisition," Perzee said. "Had COVID not happened, we would not need" the motel.

(Joliet Patch article continues below this photo of the Quality Inn.)

MorningStar Mission, 350 E. Washington St., and the Catholic Charities' Daybreak Shelter at 611 E. Cass St. are the two primary homeless centers in Joliet and both are on the city's east side. For several months amid the coronavirus, Daybreak significantly reduced the number of people staying at its dormitory-style housing unit.

"Our center is hotel style," Perzee said. "We can do anywhere from 40 to 100, it just depends if there's one individual in a room or three people in a room. Right now, we're averaging about 80" per night.

Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the MorningStar Mission made great strides in sharply reducing the city's homeless population to less than 200 people "and by the end of this year, we likely would be under 100," Perzee said.

Since the coronavirus crisis, an estimated 450 homeless people are living across Joliet, according to MorningStar Mission.

"Now, it's almost like starting from scratch," Perzee said. "From 10 years ago, there were about 450 people living on the streets."

Perzee said one of the biggest myths is that the city's homeless population consists of people who moved here from faraway states and cities.

"The rumor that our homeless population is not from Joliet, that's inaccurate," she said. "Over 95 percent in the system became homeless in Joliet, and there's a difference between homelessness and transient."

She said the Quality Inn acquisition would not change any of her programs and services at the MorningStar Mission's main location, 350 E. Washington St. near Union Street.

"We've worked very hard to clean up the east side," she said.

These days, the city's west side near Larkin Avenue and McDonough Street is a "magnet" for homeless people. She said a lot of homeless people are staying behind the Sam's Club property.

Another growing area for homeless people to stay is outside the empty Kmart near Larkin Avenue and West Jefferson Street.

"We do what we can, but it's very hard when you're on the east side trying to engage with people. If we're there, we can reduce and get those people housed," Perzee said.

(Article continues below this photo.)

The Quality Inn is owned by one of Joliet's biggest hotel and motel owners, Mike Patel. In February, the Joliet City Council approved Patel's plans to renovate the downtown Joliet Barrett's Hardware building into a Marriott's Springhill Suites at 65 N. Ottawa St.

Since the worldwide health crisis, Patel has delayed his plans to begin renovations on the Barrett's building, a private investment in downtown Joliet of roughly $18 million.

The director of Joliet's MorningStar Mission said that if her purchase of the Quality Inn on Larkin Avenue does not materialize, the Springhill Suites will never happen.

"The owner wants to do the Springhill Suites downtown, but if the Quality Inn deal does not go through, he can't do the Springhill Suites downtown," Perzee said Tuesday.

Perzee hopes the City Council realizes the MorningStar Mission's plans to occupy the Quality Inn are in the best interest of the city and that it's being done to address an important need facing the community: reducing homelessness.

Based on her recent discussions with O'Dekirk and Hock, Perzee said she left with the impression "it's going to be a hard sell politically" for them.

"I think they don't want to see a homeless center forever on Larkin Avenue, and I don't think we need to be a homeless shelter per se once we tackle this," she said.

"It's in excellent shape," she said of the motel. "They just revamped it two years ago. I'm very excited about the project."