Going gray

Those who drive past the corner of Pleasant and Arch streets in Portland will see a transformation happening.

The big white house on the northwest corner is gradually becoming gray.

The installation of new siding is part of an ongoing project to make upgrades at Youth Service Bureau’s residential facility.

PJ Corwin, executive director of Youth Service Bureau, explained that the project was made possible when funding became available. It is being funded through Employee Retention Tax Credits, for which the organization was eligible because of losses it suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We were pleasantly surprised that we qualified for some of that funding,” said Corwin.

In addition to the siding that is changing the exterior look of the building, the project also includes replacement of the deck and the installation of some new windows. Those portions of the project stemmed from safety issues and energy efficiency, respectively.

“The deck was in a situation where nails were starting to come up,” Corwin said. “It was time to replace it for safety issues.”

Windows were removed, consolidated and replaced, “which I think makes it look more like a typical house now,” Corwin added.

The siding replacement project also includes replacing the soffit and gutters.

While the work was not mandated, Corwin noted that Indiana Department of Child Services representatives were starting to notice siding coming off the building during their regular site visits.

The total project comes in at just under $100,000. Limberlost Construction of Geneva is handling the work.

Youth Service Bureau provides residential and emergency care via the residential facility, serving those ages 10 through 19. It is licensed for 12 beds — males on the first floor and females on the second — though it is limited to eight at current staffing levels. It can accept placements from anywhere in Indiana, typically through referrals from the Department of Child Services or probation departments.

The organization also offers home-based programming in Jay and surrounding counties and other programs such as Healthy Families, Keeping At-Risk Students in Schools and Children in the Middle.

The residential facility was originally constructed in 1899 as a home for the Starbuck-Haynes family. It later became a nursing home for a short period of time. Youth Service Bureau acquired the property in the late 1970s and it has served as the organization’s residential facility ever since.

Looking ahead to future projects, Corwin said the roof will need to be replaced. He added that he’d like to expand parking — it is currently limited to the north side along the alley — to wrap around to the east side of the building along Pleasant Street.

“Parking has been a problem down there,” he said. “It has been for a long time.”

Those changes are topics of conversation for future years.

Currently, the talk around Youth Service Bureau is about getting used to the changes that are underway.

“The big joke around here right now is we used to always refer to it as the big, white house at the corner of the next block down,” said Corwin. “So now it’ll be the big gray house at the corner of the next block down.”