Former DeLuca's Place could see new use as halfway house

LORAIN — A vacant banquet hall in Lorain could find new life as a residential social service facility for recently released prison inmates. The former DeLuca's Place in the Park, 6075 Middle Ridge Road, could house a facility managed by Prospera Reentry. The new property owner, JTTR Properties, sought a rezoning and conditional use permit for the space at Wednesday's Planning Commission meeting. The company, owned by Anthony Giardini, purchased the property in January for $425,000. The former event center closed in 2019. This is the second time Prospera Reentry Executive Director Michael Swiger and Giardini have come before the Planning Commission. In February, the pair along with Ben Fligner of Smoked Meats LLC sought a rezoning for a building behind the former St. Joseph Community Center for the same type of residential facility. Giardini said it had appeared the city was not keen on having the facility right downtown, especially near the former St. Joseph's site due to other potential projects. DeLuca's appears to be a better fit. "This location is about as far out on the outskirts of Lorain as you can get. As a matter of fact, the entire property is surrounded by Elyria Township." The facility fell into disrepair and was nearing foreclosure when it transferred, Giardini said. While not the site the group originally pitched, the former event center property actually ended up being a better space for their needs, Swiger said. "Livingston (Avenue) and that area is landlocked. … The DeLuca location, it has green space," he said. "One of the things we want to do is provide horticulture training, landscape training for the folks who are residing in that facility. … The building is larger, which gives us air to put a full commercial kitchen in. We wanted to do culinary arts training at that facility as well." It also is walking distance from the Carvana site on Middle Ridge Road. Swiger plans to contact the facility to see if it could offer job opportunities or partner for programming to inmates who complete the group's automotive repair program. Formerly named True Freedom Enterprises, Prospera Reentry is the largest adult prison ministry in Ohio, according to Swiger, and has partnered with Grafton Correctional Institution's reintegration center, as well as providing programming at the supermax facility in Youngstown. The proposed facility in Lorain would be the only facility of its kind in the county, he said, and the only one outside Cleveland and Toledo in northern Ohio. "Right now, if someone who's born and raised in Lorain was released from prison, he would end up in a halfway house in Cleveland," Swiger said. "They won't allow people out of the halfway house until they have a job, so guys are taking temporary jobs they're not going to keep because they're trying to get back to Lorain. So it makes it difficult for guys to reenter." If approved, the ministry plans to host about a dozen male residents initially coming from the county jail, though could expand to have about 80 men at a time living there after serving longer sentences. Those men would be originally from Lorain County, having served time for nonviolent offenses. Individuals would live in a dormitory-style space, with 6-foot walls separating the large open area of the building into individualized living quarters. Keeping the top of the space open allows the ministry to continue using the building's current fire suppression system, Swiger said. The space would not house sex offenders, arsonists or those with violent felony convictions and off-duty police officers would be employed for security. He said the national recidivism rate is about 67 percent after three years, while the faith-based model Prospera uses reduces that to about 9 percent. The bulk of individuals who complete job training programs keep their jobs for at least two years, Swiger said. Robert Bodnar, who's home abuts the property in question, expressed concerns for having the facility in his neighborhood. "I think the most concern would be not so much the facility being secured, but the neighborhood being secured from the people who are coming into it," he said. Swiger said statistically the crime rate goes down around the facilities due to the security measures in place and that it closely monitors the individuals who would "most likely" be causing problems in the neighborhood. Mayor Jack Bradley noted the city does have a problem with people committing crimes in the area, but also those coming home who can't find a job and return to the lifestyle they left behind. "I agree with you, you don't want to have a peaceful neighborhood disturbed because you're bringing in people that have a propensity to commit crimes," Bradley said. "But on the other side of the coin, we want to make sure that people that are coming back to the community aren't just set loose into the community without any assistance or help." Planning Commission members approved the required rezoning for the space, which will move to City Council for consideration. Bradley abstained. A public hearing is required prior to approving a conditional use permit for the residential social service facility. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.