At the request of St. Paul City Council Member Anika Bowie, the council voted 3-2 on Wednesday to delay a vote on funding the conversion of a Marshall Avenue rooming house into a 30 to 35 unit housing facility for some of the city’s hardest-to-house residents.

The city council will revisit the “Familiar Faces” initiative on Dec. 11. Officials with the mayor’s office have proposed using $6.8 million in federal HOME-ARP grant money to convert St. Christopher’s Place, a 70-unit rooming house run by Catholic Charities, into city-owned housing with support services for individuals known as frequent fliers before police, courts and emergency services.

Bowie last week asked for a vote to be delayed to mid-December so she could discuss details with the community, but she was overruled by fellow council members.

Bowie on Wednesday said she had confirmed with Catholic Charities that the purchase agreement was not scheduled to be executed until late March. She then reiterated her request for a delay, which was approved with Council Members Rebecca Noecker and Nelsie Yang supportive and Council President Mitra Jalali and Saura Jost opposed. Cheniqua Johnson and HwaJeong Kim were absent for that part of the meeting.

Bowie said she valued supportive housing and integrating homeless residents into the community, but “I also value and uphold the opportunity to engage residents in these new endeavors that the city wants to take on. … What is the sense of urgency this year? … There is time for people to get their questions answered.”

In April, St. Paul College expressed interest in purchasing the rooming house for student housing, but Catholic Charities prioritized the city’s proposal instead.

On Thursday, the St. Paul Planning Commission’s zoning committee likely will make a recommendation about whether to support a conditional-use permit for the “Familiar Faces” facility, including lifting the minimum distance requirement to the next supportive housing facility.

Arrigoni East, a state-backed group home on Summit Avenue, serves men who have completed a treatment program. Another group home, The Retreat Sober Living, is also located on Summit Avenue. The full Planning Commission will take up the question in early December.

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