By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

A large former SafeHouse of Shelby County shelter overlooking U.S. 31 in Pelham could soon get some needed repairs and a new tenant if the city agrees to rezone the property during its Oct. 21 meeting.

The house, which is at 1200 Martin St., has been vacant for a few years since SafeHouse moved its shelter to another location. The property currently is owned by the Madison Earl Development company, which is looking to have the property rezoned from office and institutional to single-family residential.

During a public hearing on the rezoning on Oct. 7, Madison Earl Development representative Steve McMinn told the council the building has been vandalized in recent years, and said he is looking to renovate the house and move there with his family.

“It will just be a bigger house for us,” McMinn said.