By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

A family soon will be renovating and moving into a heavily vandalized former SafeHouse of Shelby County shelter overlooking U.S. 31 after the Pelham City Council agreed 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 recently asked the council to rezone the property from office and institutional to single-family residential.

The building sits atop a ridge across from Pelham City Hall, and is visible from much of U.S. 31.

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