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Faith West opens in West Lafayette

Mike Loizzo
/
WBAA Radio

Faith Ministries reports roughly a dozen of the 119 residents have moved into their apartments already. Officials say all should be settled before Purdue’s fall semester begins August 19.

The fitness center opened Monday at 5 a.m. and is being used. The preschool held an open house Monday night for interested parents to learn more about the program.

Arvid Olson, Faith’s director of development, says it will still be a few weeks until the restaurant opens.

“Café Literato is a commercial restaurant. It is a leased, retail space,” he says. “John Christos with Christos Restaurants and Red Seven, he really had a high concept here.”

The space will be the first brick-oven pizzeria in West Lafayette. Literato also will offer sandwiches and a variety of coffees. It’s expected to open by mid-September.

The public is able to benefit from tax exempt bonds the City of West Lafayette approved for the Faith West Community Center. The council voted last year in favor of Faith Ministries using $7 million in tax exempt bonds toward the nearly $12 million facility.

Olson says it was designed with the community in mind.

“We have a public fitness center. We have a public preschool. We also have community space, a multipurpose room that’s a full size gymnasium. We’re going to be holding leagues over here and teaching evening classes as part of our Faith Community Institute.”

Some local community and business leaders took a tour Tuesday. Lafayette mayor Tony Roswarski called it amazing.

“It’s such an improvement over what was here,” he says, referring to the crime plagued motel that was razed in 2008.

The property is currently tax-exempt, but that status will be reviewed next summer, according to the county assessor.

Olson says it will still be a few weeks until counseling services are available.

“We’re obviously faith-based and we’re offering a faith-based bible counseling model, and we’re very clear about that,” he says. “We know there’s a demand (in West Lafayette) from all the phone calls we receive at Faith East.”

Olson says other public portions of the facility include meeting rooms, a large multi-purpose room and a playground and picnic area.

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