PEORIA — The meticulously maintained list of the area's homeless population is about to shrink by more than 10 people. The Madison Avenue Apartments will open this month and provide an affordable home for eight individuals and two families who are currently, as in tonight, sleeping in a shelter, in a car or on the streets.

One of the new tenants of one of the newly-built, freshly-painted apartment units that occupy the top two floors of the three-story, 19th century brick building at 202 NE Madison Avenue in Downtown Peoria has been homeless for 20 years.

Twenty years.

This month he gets a home.

"There are 250 people on a waiting list (for housing) in this area," said Christine Kahl, executive director of South Side Office of Concern on Monday. "Any time you move anybody off that list is a time to celebrate a success. Taking 10 people off the list at one time is huge, even though the overall need is still great."

Last spring, the agency received a $4.4 million grant from the Illinois Housing Development Authority to turn its downtown office space into subsidized apartments for people who are homeless. The grant was for $2.8 million to convert the top two floors into 10 apartments — eight 1-bedroom units for individuals, two 2-bedroom units for families — and $1.6 million to provide a subsidy for low income, homeless tenants.

South Side Office of Concern is in the process of selecting the tenants for the shiny new apartment units with the original brick walls, new windows and drywall, tile floors, ceiling sprinklers, tub-and-shower units, refrigerator and electric stove and oven, stainless steel double sinks, laundry facilities on the third floor and a library on the second floor. Qualified tenants must be homeless, have an income of between 15 and 30 percent of the area median income and be ready to sign a one-year lease.

"The two families are confirmed for the 2-bedroom units, and five of the individual units," Kahl said. "We'll have the other three filled soon."

Tenants are selected from the list maintained by area agencies of people who are homeless in Peoria, Tazewell, Woodford and Fulton counties. The list is numbered and prioritized of people who are the most vulnerable and needy, beginning with individuals who are most likely to die on the streets if they don't receive housing assistance, Kahl said. It's a fluid list that changes daily, hourly even, as people move up and down and on and off it as life circumstances wobble and flow, deteriorate and improve.

Kevin Nowlan works for the Heart of Illinois United Way's homeless continuum of care. He has daily, intimate knowledge of the composition of the homeless population in human terms.

"As of today there are 144 single people on the list and 162 people people who are in family groups; 66 are adults and 96 are kids," Nowlan said on Monday. "We're celebrating the 10 new apartments and that is great — 10 here, 10 there are a huge benefit to the community and it is important, valuable work. But the waiting list remains long and unbelievable really."

South Side Office of Concern has moved its offices from the third floor to the first. Employees will soon share the building's lone elevator with the tenants on the second and third floors.

"Housing is a key to well-being, your health, your children's health" Kahl said. "It's a life-changing event for people who don't know where they are going to lay their head at night."

The project contractor is CORE Construction; the units were designed by Farnsworth architects. A dedication, ribbon cutting and open house will be held Friday from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Anyone wishing to donate household items and furniture should contact Kristen Berchtold at kberchtold@southsideofficeofconcern.org or (309) 222-2751

Scott Hilyard can be reached at 686-3244 or by email at shilyrd@pjstar.com Follow @scotthilyard on Twitter.