The Union Gospel Mission of Tarrant County (UGM-TC) has broken ground on a mixed-used development for affordable housing at 1321 E. Lancaster Ave.
The Union Gospel Mission of Tarrant County (UGM-TC) has broken ground on a mixed-used development for affordable housing at 1321 E. Lancaster Ave.
The Vineyard on Lancaster will be a two-building campus that includes 104 multifamily apartments designated as affordable housing. Those who apply to live at the Vineyard will be eligible for seven types of housing vouchers. The Vineyard will also offer on-site case management and medical care from Healing Shepard Clinic.
Funding for the $19 million project comes partially from housing tax credits ($12 million), the National Housing Trust Fund and the Affordable Housing Program. Additional support comes from organizations like the Amon G. Carter Foundation and the Sid Richardson Foundation.
On Tuesday, UGM-TC Chaplain Stanley Maneikis blessed the ground while community leaders, organizers and volunteers watered vines that will be planted at the development upon construction completion. Father Maneikis performed a prayer, followed with an asperges (sprinkling of holy water), and proceeded to bless the grounds.
Among the speakers at the event was David Connor, a former homeless man who has been a part of the Union Gospel Mission since 1981. Throughout the years, Connor was able to work his way up at the mission and have positions such as operations manager and director of maintenance.
The groundbreaking was a “remembrance of how much this place means to me and how much it means to a lot of people,” Connor said. “It's a real heartfelt thing to see people doing the groundbreaking, the pastor blessing the ground, it's a vision, it was something we all wanted to see happen.”
UGM-TCU expects the The Vineyard on Lancaster to house its first resident no later than Dec. 31, 2019.
