CFS move nixed

In the end, it proved to be too much of a stretch.

Community and Family Services has walked away from plans to relocate its operations to a former automobile dealership on Meridian Street in Portland.

“Four different funding options backed out at the last minute,” CFS executive director Andy Glentzer said.

CFS, which operates a wide variety of programs ranging from weatherization to Head Start, had rented the building and adjoining lots for almost three years.

Plans called for the building, formerly home to Ken Kunkle Chevrolet, Oldsmobile and Cadillac, to become the home for the Helping Hand Food Pantry, a Joe on the Go coffee shop, a “day care” facility for the elderly, a business incubator and more.

Now that’s not going to happen, and CFS is looking for a suitable alternative. The organization, which administers programs in six counties in Indiana, is bursting at the seams of its current offices on Wayne Street in a building that once was part of the Joseph Lay Broom Company.

“We’re still looking for a place,” said Glentzer, adding that ideally a new home would provide 11,000 to 13,000 square-feet of space, be handicapped accessible, and be on a single level.

“And we’d like to be visible,” he said.

The dealership property at 414 N. Meridian St., currently owned by former State Rep. Bill Davis, met all those qualifications.

But it also brought its own share of complications, which slowed the purchase process.

There are three underground tanks in the surrounding lots and another tank under the building. While the one under the building has been filled with sand, the other three would have to be removed.

“We had all the funding to take out the (three) tanks,” said Glentzer.

But purchase of the building was predicated on financing, and while one lender was willing to make the loan, the interest rate was out of reach.

“It’s cost prohibitive,” said Glentzer. “Finally the board felt we could no longer pour money into it. … There was just no way.”

It was a difficult decision since CFS had already invested in architectural and engineering work. Construction drawings were ready to go.

Instead of construction, plans now call for vacating the building in mid-November. For now, Glentzer said, Joe on the Go will continue to operate from its mobile facility parked on the lot directly to the north, which is owned by Ken Kunkle.