CenterPointe, a Lincoln-based program for people with mental illness and addiction problems, will begin construction soon on a complex with 10 apartments for low-income clients.

The fully handicapped accessible, one-bedroom units will be constructed at 32nd and Overland Trail Road, said Topher Hansen, CenterPointe executive director.

The front of the one-story apartment building will look out onto Peter Pan Park and the bike path. "I think it will be a great spot," Hansen said.

One way to end homelessness is to put housing and services together, Hansen said about the agency's housing component.

The apartments will be rented by people who are pretty far along in their recovery, said Dennis Hoffman, housing director.

"They just need a safe, affordable place to live," Hoffman said.

The agency serves about 350 people at any given time. Most clients are low income and have a dual diagnosis of mental illness and addiction.

The 540-square-foot apartments will include a kitchen, living room, bedroom and bathroom. The complex will include a community room that residents can use for meetings, get-togethers or for family dinners, Hoffman said. There will be access to laundry facilities in a common area, according to a release from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development, which is providing a grant to the project.

CenterPointe will provide residents with outpatient counseling and other supportive services.

Hansen said CenterPointe soon would open two other renovated apartment complexes, an 11-plex at 14th and D streets and a four-plex in the 2300 block of F St.

With the new apartments, CenterPointe will have 112 housing units, either owned by the agency or through rent subsidies.

The agency has combined money from federal, state and local governments to build the 10-plex. It includes an $882,100 loan from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban development, $140,000 from Lincoln's HOMEfund, a $200,000 donation from Region V and a $100,000 affordable housing trust fund grant from the state, according to the news release.

Reach Nancy Hicks at 473-7250 or nhicks@journalstar.com