The sale of a former church and rectory in Nesquehoning that will be used to help homeless families is nearing completion.

An agreement of sale between Family Promise of Carbon County and St. Joseph Parish of the Panther Valley and the Diocese of Allentown for the purchase of the former St. Francis of Assisi church and rectory at 140 W. Mill St. is almost done, the Rev. Allen Hoffa, pastor of St. Joseph Parish of the Panther Valley in Summit Hill, said recently.

He said that the holdup for the sale was the funding Family Promise was securing through the county Community Development Block Grant and through the Local Share Account grant.

On June 25, the Carbon County Commissioners approved cooperation agreements with Family Promise for the $50,000 CDBG funds and the $30,000 LSA grant for the release of funds.

Krista Brown-Ly, executive director of Family Promise of Carbon County, said in an email this week that the organization’s attorney is currently working with the diocese attorney to finalize the purchase agreement and settlement date.

“It is a long process, but we are sure it will be worth the wait,” she said.

The sale of the buildings began last fall after Family Promise board members met with Hoffa about the site and their hopes to have a centralized location for their current operations as well as meet the needs of another population currently underserved in the county - single homeless women.

In October, Tina Dowd, founding board member of Family Promise, said the nonprofit’s current location in Lehighton was not ADA accessible and was too small to serve a full slate of families.

Family Promise plans to create a centralized location for the shelter and be able to expand its emergency shelter services to women, a group that lacks homelessness services currently in Carbon County.

The project did not move forward without some resistance from neighbors around the property, with complaints surrounding the clientele and the impact to the surrounding properties.

In December, Nesquehoning Zoning Hearing Board voted 2-1 to allow Family Promise’s project to move forward.

During that hearing, Sky Fogal, former president and current board member of the program spoke about the purpose of the organization.

“We’re bringing in homeless children and their families - that’s what we do,” Fogal said.

Family Promise of Carbon County was formed in 2009 to meet the need of homeless families in the county and has an 85% success rate in helping families find long-term, stable, permanent housing.

In 2018, the organization oversaw 9,604 volunteer hours served helping the homeless, served 4,587 meals and provide 2,947 bed nights, totaling over $372,000 in in-kind services to their clients.