The Gateway Center at 31 Water St., Jamestown, is the longtime home of St. Susan Center. Center officials announced Monday the St. Susan Center will remain at its longtime home as part of the Gateway Lofts redevelopment project rather than move to the former Jamestown Business College campus.

The Gateway Lofts project has a new tenant with a familiar name.

After months of evaluation and financial analysis, the St. Susan Center Board of Directors has voted to remain at its longtime home in the Gateway Center at 31 Water St. and to pursue tenancy within the Gateway Lofts redevelopment project.

“We are incredibly grateful to the Conklin family for their extraordinary generosity,” said Cherie Rowland, executive director of St. Susan Center. “Their gift gave us the opportunity to explore a bold vision for expanding and enhancing our services. We remain deeply thankful for their compassion and commitment to our community.”

Over the past year, St. Susan Center completed architectural studies, site plan approvals, and detailed construction estimates for the JBC property. As planning advanced, however, projected renovation costs increased substantially — rising from early estimates of approximately $1 million to nearly $3 million when accounting for full construction scope and required upgrades, due to substantial change of use from a school building to food services. After careful analysis and a structured evaluation process, the St. Susan Center board determined that assuming this level of financial exposure would place significant long-term strain on the organization and risk the stability of its daily operations.

“Our responsibility is to ensure the long-term sustainability of St. Susan Center and the uninterrupted delivery of meals and services,” said Greg Lindquist, St. Susan Center board president. “Taking on a project of that scale would introduce significant financial risk. After thoughtful deliberation, the Board concluded that remaining at Gateway and working toward a long-term lease arrangement is the most responsible path forward at this time.”

The Gateway Lofts project, led by Southern Tier Environments for Living (STEL) in partnership with Community Helping Hands and the YWCA of Jamestown, will transform the former Chautauqua Hardware factory into a 110-unit affordable housing development with supportive services.

A full story will appear in the Tuesday edition of The Post-Journal.