Scott Cooper Williams

Press-Gazette Media

The new center will occupy about half of an 8,800-square-foot property

The St. John shelter spent about $300,000 to purchase the building

Officials expect about 40 people a day on average to seek services

Homeless people in downtown Green Bay soon will have a new place to spend their days working toward a brighter future.

It is designed to help homeless people and also to prevent them from wandering the streets or creating nuisances in the city's downtown area.The Micah Center at 700 E. Walnut St. is scheduled to open Wednesday as a resource for health care, counseling, education and more.

After promoters of the concept spent years searching for a location, St. John the Evangelist Homeless Shelter purchased and renovated a former office building on the east side of downtown.

"The location is ideal," St. John executive director Alexia Wood said during an open house Monday to unveil the new facility.

The 4,000-square-foot center at Walnut and Quincy streets will offer homeless men and women free medical check-ups, job search assistance, drug counseling, education tutoring, arts and crafts, and recreation.

Starting Wednesday, the center will be open year-round from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and also on Sunday afternoons. In addition to the homeless, services will be available to other struggling residents who are not homeless.

Deacon Tim Reilly of the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay said the operation likely will lose money initially, but officials hope donations will offset operating costs estimated at $200,000 a year. The diocese owns St. John the Evangelist Homeless Shelter and has been looking for way to expand services.

"Our primary focus," Reilly said, "is to provide a welcoming face and hand."

The Micah Center, named after a Hebrew prophet, represents the latest attempt to find a place in downtown Green Bay where homeless people can occupy themselves during the day.

The St. John shelter, 411 St. John St., offers emergency housing and other services overnight, but it is closed during the day. That has prompted some nearby businesses and residents to complain about homeless people engaging in vagrancy, public drunkenness and other problems.

A group that included Lutheran Social Services tried previously to open a daytime resource center elsewhere. But two different property owners revoked offers to lease space for the operation after encountering resistance from neighbors.

Reilly, who is a leading administrator of the diocese, said officials decided to invest $300,000 in purchasing an office building that would not need to be rezoned or require any other kind of permit from the city.

"We just moved ahead in faith," he said.

Two dentist offices continue to operate on the property as St. John tenants, and the new daytime homeless center occupies about half of the 8,800-square-foot complex.

The remodeled space for the Micah Center will include a large meeting room for drug counseling, an education room with computers, a recreation room with a pool table, a medical exam room, a locker room for personal storage, an arts and crafts room, and a TV room.

Officials project daily usage at about 40 people on average.

Outside groups and volunteers have stepped forward to help provide a full range of services.

Dave LaForest, who has prior experience with Family Services of Northeast Wisconsin and the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin, has joined as program manager.

LaForest said he is confident that the facility will reach its intended population and will be a success.

"It's coming together really well," he said.

— swilliams@pressgazettemedia.com and follow him on Twitter @pgscottwilliams