Middle Way House to build 6 apartments downtown

The Middle Way House has 196,765 reasons to love Bloomington.
In partnership with the Housing and Neighborhood Development Department, Middle Way House received a $196,765 grant to develop six one-bedroom apartments in the historic Coca-Cola building at 318 S. Washington St. The apartments will become the home for women without children who are victims of domestic abuse, said Toby Strout, executive director of Middle Way House.
Strout said the apartments are currently in a historical preservation phase, with the goal of opening the completed project Oct. 15.
The building will also include a one-story brick addition, a commercial kitchen and a garden. Three of the apartments will look out over the garden and the other three will have a downtown view, Strout said.
The recent grant, which was awarded through Housing and Urban Development, is just one of many grants Middle Way has received for the project, said Lisa Abbott, director of HAND.
“We’ve been involved in the project since it’s inception,” Abbott said, noting the other grants have funded acquiring the building and restoring the historic building. “We’ve also done a lot of technical assistance with them.”
Speaking on behalf of Bloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan, Communications Director for the City Danny Lopez said one of the City’s major focuses is community collaboration, noting that the collaboration between the city and Middle Way House is “super important.”
“They provide services necessary to the community,” he said. “Middle Way is one that is recognized nationally. The support is being put to really good use.”
Middle Way, which has been supporting domestic violence abuse victims for almost 20 years, was recognized as a “National Model” program by the United States Department of Justice.
Abbott said working with Middle Way is a way of the city acquiring units of affordable housing, helping increase diversity among residents. She said the program will also benefit the community.
“This program provides housing, shelter, childcare, job training to a population that we certainly want to have the services,” she said.
Because Middle Way is a model program, Abbott said there are only positive outcomes to HAND’s partnering with them on the project.
“We’re very fortunate in this community,” she said. “I think we can help them do more and provide more service and then what they give back to us is a better, stronger community.”
Strout said HAND is helpful because they know about more funding sources as well as what to look out for when looking for money.
“You get a lot more than just money when work with the HAND department,” she said. “You get a lot of expertise and a lot of information.”