Obscured only by the looming prospect of data centers and a vote that could shape the future development of Darbytown was the fact Fredericksburg City Council approved on Tuesday night a supportive housing project years in the making.
The city council voted 6-0 to approve two ordinances and a pair of resolutions related to the Jeremiah Community, a project championed by Micah Ecumenical Ministries as an enduring solution to homelessness in the city. The votes punctuated a lengthy public process that began earlier this summer and included five public hearings.
While those conversations featured their share of debate — both technical and fraught in nature — Tuesday’s unanimous votes were preceded by only a presentation by Zoning Administrator Kelly Machen and brief comments from Ward 1 Councilor Jason Graham.
“As long as it’s taken for us to get to this point, it certainly did feel like an uneventful end,” Micah Executive Director Meghann Cotter said. “We were later on the agenda, but there were a lot of us that wanted to be there for that moment.
“It’s a moment that 20 years ago, we couldn’t have even had a conversation between the churches and city council about people sleeping outside.”
According to Cotter, Micah and other stakeholders will spend the next 6-8 months site planning, a process that involves city staff. They’re also looking to raise an additional $17.5 million for the project, with approximately $6 million already raised, Cotter said.
“This project is innovative enough that Some of the most traditional funding sources, even going to the bank, are not as accessible,” Cotter said. “We’re really going to be depending on the philanthropic hearts of the community to get this project off the ground.”
The initial phase of the project will be built off Wicklow Dr. and will include 50 small homes and a community center. Cotter said she envisions the community center as “a hub for a lot of the supportive services,” needed by the development’s future residents, many of whom fit the definition of chronic homelessness. Those services include case management, healthcare and income development.
Following the vote and as Mayor Kerry Devine prepared to read the next item on the agenda, a quick round of applause broke out in council chambers.
“There’s been a lot of hours that have gone into this from community members and city staff,” Graham said. “It’s a little out of the ordinary, but that’s what I think is so wonderful about it.”
