A surge in veterans struggling with substance abuse or in need of psychiatric care has forced another important service -- transitional housing -- off the Veterans Affairs Medical Center campus in east Salt Lake City.

And given just months to secure housing for dozens of otherwise homeless veterans who were being pushed out of the Valor House transitional living complex, the Housing Authority of Salt Lake City jumped at an opportunity to buy a 110-unit motel on the city's west side.

But the authority could have jumped a bit fast. To meet the $5.65 million purchase price, it's counting on more than $1 million in funding from the city and county. And neither government has agreed to pay just yet -- even though veterans started moving in last week.

Tuesday, the Salt Lake City Council will consider an application from the nonprofit for $519,000 in no-interest loans to help in the purchase of the former Days Inn motel at 1900 W. North Temple, now known as "Freedom Landing." The council also has been asked to forgive a $179,000 loan, made in 2001, for renovations to the Valor House, which will now be used to provide bed space for the VA's medical patients.

The authority expects to assume about 65 percent of the purchase price and will receive another $1 million in loans from the state's Olene Walker Housing Loan Fund.

A $500,000 grant request with the county is pending and could be months away from approval.

In a request delivered to then-city council chairman Carlton Christensen last month, the authority acknowledged it was "assuming a significant risk" in moving ahead with the purchase before it secured the rest of the funding. But the authority's executive director, Bill Nighswonger, said Monday his organization felt it had to act fast.

"It seemed like an ideal situation for us," he said. "And if we hadn't been able to act, somebody else might have bought the property."

Nighswonger said he knew the city or the county might not elect to support the project, and said the authority will seek other funding if those avenues do not come through. But he said he hoped the project will be looked upon favorably.

"It's a worthy cause," he said. "We're trying to help veterans and I think there is a sense of compassion for that."

Christensen did not express any resentment over the authority's gamble. "I would not be afraid to say 'no,'" he said. "But this project has been very favorably received by the community and, at least in my experience, we have always had a very good relationship with the housing authority."

It wasn't a lack of compassion that forced veterans from Valor House, said Al Hernandez, supervisor for the VA Homeless Program.

"With all the new veterans coming back, we're finding that a lot of them are having suicidal thoughts and serious drug and alcohol problems," Hernandez said. "So it isn't that the transitional housing program wasn't important, but if you look at the priority -- here we had a situation where veterans are attempting to hurt themselves -- we just needed the beds. That's how that fell in line."

But in the long run, Hernandez said the shift will benefit homeless veterans and their advocates. Freedom Landing will have space for nearly double the number of veterans that were housed at Valor House. And the federal government has provided land on another area of the VA campus for a new Valor House that will add space for another 70 homeless veterans, likely in late 2011.

And Hernandez said that, given the nation's ongoing wars, those spaces will be needed.

"There's always a demand," he said. "And currently our supply of transitional housing is struggling to meet that demand."

mlaplante@sltrib.com

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