$4.3 Million Federal
$12 Million
$27 Million
CARITAS
Social Services, Healthcare, & more
The Philip Morris Blended Leaf Plant is a former industrial building that was originally a stemmery that supported the mass production of cigarettes. Originally constructed in the late 1950s, the facility was part of an ambitious plan of expansion initiated in the 1950s by the Philip Morris Company. The plant was the epicenter of the Philip Morris Blended Leaf Complex historic district, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017, until 2011, when the factory was decommissioned and fell into disrepair.
The former warehouse is now the new headquarters for Congregations Around Richmond to Assure Shelter (CARITAS), a center of support and recovery for those experiencing homelessness and battling addiction or substance use disorders. CARITAS was founded in 1987 to provide effective, permanent solutions to individuals and families dealing with the crisis of homelessness and/or substance use disorders in the Metro Richmond area. It has a strong history of continued growth and successful fundraising to support its programs which include CARITAS Shelter, CARITAS Furniture Bank, CARITAS Works, and The Healing Place. The creation of this facility allowed the organization to greatly expand the capabilities of their services while also creating new programs to more effectively serve their community.
By co-locating the various programs CARITAS supports, the organization has saved over $350,000 on an annual basis, which allowed it to further develop new and existing services. The project also allowed CARITAS to expand their Healing Place program to include services specifically dedicated to supporting women in need. The furniture bank supports nearly 1,000 families each year by providing those transitioning to permanent housing with low/no-cost furniture. Through the CARITAS Shelter program, the revitalized space added 40 sober living units and seven transition units for program graduates and community members. By incorporating
housing into the new facility, CARITAS no longer had to carry an $86k/year expense for the nine apartments and two houses that it used to lease to male alumni and transitional clients.
CARITAS’ new location allowed for 26 new permanent full-time positions, with 14 of those created as a direct result of the expansion into the space. Approximately 70% of the newly created jobs were accessible to LIPs or residents of LICs. All new job opportunities for the Women’s Healing Place program were made available to members of the surrounding community.
Full-Time Jobs Created
Saved Annually by CARITAS
Using Furniture Bank Annually
Sober Living Units
Transitional Living Units
The renovation of the former Philip Morris Blended Leaf Plant into CARITAS’ new headquarters was made possible, in part, by NTCIC through an equity investment in the $4.3 million in federal Historic Tax Credits (HTC) generated by the project and a $12 million New Markets Tax Credit allocation.
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