WASTA, S.D. (AP) - The shuttered and dilapidated Redwood Motel that served as a backdrop for the 1992 film, “Thunderheart,” starring Val Kilmer, has gained a new lease on life and is being renovated by a Rapid City developer who would like it to serve as the new home to dozens of homeless vets and their pets.
While some residents of this remote town of 80 residents hugging the banks of the Cheyenne River 42 miles east of Rapid City question whether Wasta is the right place to house veterans, the Veterans Administration and at least one member of the town board have praised the proposal, the Rapid City Journal (https://bit.ly/1Su9KO2 ) reported.
Developer Larry Fuss, who admits to having a soft spot for veterans, says renovation of the old motel could provide as many as 34 affordable housing units for the region’s homeless veterans in a tranquil setting where they would be allowed to have pets.
“We’ve really grown to love these guys,” said the 55-year-old developer, who rents to about 25 vets in a 109-unit complex he owns on Mount Rushmore Road in Rapid City. “We started letting them have pets and they really brightened up. It’s neat to see. It gives them something more than themselves to think about and there are plenty of dogs and cats that need adopting.”
The vet/pet concept proved so successful in Rapid City that Fuss and his wife, Adelade, spent time searching for the right property in a serene setting where they could expand on the idea, Fuss said.
Initially, the Wasta project will include accommodations for 11 vets who will each pay an average of $400 in monthly rent, Fuss said. In nine to 12 months, the developer expects to have all 34 units set to rent.
Renovations include adding a sprinkler system, new heating and air conditioning units, and making all of the apartments “mechanically safe and sound,” he said. All told, Fuss said he expected to invest more than $100,000 in the project.
“We’re basically repurposing an old building with the intention of rebuilding lives,” said Fuss, whose 17- and 18-year-old daughters, Lorraine and Annie Rose, were driving dump trucks and hauling debris from the project last week.
Norm Current, a town board member originally from Michigan, who bought property in Wasta in 1998, said he was enthused about Fuss’s project. He supports the renovation of one of the town’s historic structures and the opportunity to add a few new residents to the isolated small town.
“Anytime you have vacant buildings, it’s not good,” Current said. “They were kind of an eyesore, and it’s nice to see someone willing to maintain them. Everybody is in favor of it that I’ve talked to.”
Current said the project would likely be a topic of discussion at this week’s monthly meeting of the town board, but added that he didn’t anticipate any problems with the development being a home for veterans.
“I think it could be a workable situation, and it could benefit the community,” he said. “Larry seems like a nice guy, and I think he’s going to be a plus for the community.”
A spokesman for the VA Black Hills Health Care System agreed said the federal agency had worked hard to erase stereotypical concerns that cast all homeless veterans as alcoholic, drug-addicted or suffering from severe or untreated mental illness.
“The unfair stigma is often a barrier for landlords to rent to the homeless population,” said Willem “Bill” Fahrenbruck, the VA’s local coordinator of health care for homeless veterans. “Once veterans are placed in a safe and stable housing situation, long-term solutions are offered that include comprehensive wrap-around services to assist the veteran with their health care, employability, and overall well-being.”
In recent years, the VA has made significant strides in reducing the number of homeless vets, Fahrenbruck said. The most recent “Point-in-Time Count” survey - a snapshot of homelessness on a given night - identified three veterans living on the street and about three dozen veterans living in the VA’s Grant & Per Diem Program, he said.
The Black Hills VA system serves veterans residing in western South Dakota, portions of Nebraska, North Dakota, Wyoming and Montana, he said. Fahrenbruck attributed much of the VA’s success to public-private partnerships that make it easier for vets to find stable, safe and affordable housing.
“We are grateful to the landlords who have already partnered with us in our mission,” he said. “Currently, VA Black Hills has 145 tenant-based housing vouchers in the Black Hills area. It’s because of community landlords who recognize and acknowledge the service and sacrifices of our veterans (that) we are moving toward the goal of eliminating homelessness among our veteran population.”
And Fuss says that’s his ultimate goal.
“These are soldiers who have laid their lives on the line for our country,” he said. “We can’t just make them incredible, functioning machines, and then leave them on their own when they’re in need. By providing them with a place to live, to associate with each other, and to have their own pet, we’re giving them something to care for.”
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Information from: The Daily Republic, https://www.mitchellrepublic.com
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