Construction is set to begin soon on a new, $1.6 million apartment building in Woodstock that will support 12 more people working toward independent sober living.

Woodstock-based New Directions Addiction Recovery Services is building what the nonprofit calls a “three-quarter living” apartment building with six units. The affordable-living apartments, with two bedrooms and one bath, will house two residents each. There are similar “three-quarter” transitional apartments in Crystal Lake, housing five people.

The new Woodstock building, going up on a vacant lot at Borden and Jackson streets, is designated for residents who are leaving one of New Directions’ sober living houses or its retreat, but may not quite be ready for complete independence, Bobby Gattone, former executive director at New Directions said.

Residents “will have peace of mind knowing they are surrounded by people who are sober,” Gattone said.

The apartments could be ready for residents next spring. Rents will be capped at 75% of market rates. Those who live there will not be required to pay a first and last month’s rent, and they can stay for one year.

While there will be less structure than in the first year of sober living, there still will be drug and alcohol testing by case managers. Renters must be fully employed and giving back to the community in some way, Gattone said. Renters also must have been sober for a year. This building will not be a place for people who are still struggling, he said.

Daniel Woodward, 58, of Crystal Lake, was among the first residents in New Directions’ sober living house in Crystal Lake. He moved there in 2017 after someone handed him a card for New Directions while in residential treatment in Hoffman Estates.

He said he struggled with alcohol use disorder for 25 years. He lost his family and became homeless.

“I knew if I didn’t stop I would pass away and I didn’t want to die,” Woodward said. “I just needed to change everything about me.”

He participated in New Directions’ sober living program, followed the rules and structure and rebuilt his life.

“I followed everything,” Woodward said. “My eyes and ears opened up, and I learned a new way of life. Without the poison in your body, which blurs [life], then you start mending relationships with your family, build your community.”

In 2018, he moved into the second Crystal Lake sober living house, where he was house manager and lived a second year. In 2019, like many sober living residents, he was hired by New Directions a part-time case manager then became the program manager and director of housing.

While residing in sober living, of which today there are four locations, Woodward said he “gathered all the tools needed to successfully transition out.”

When it came time for Woodward to move on, three-quarter living was not yet available. Working with Gattone, who was a case manager at the time, Woodward found a roommate who also was in the sober living program and secured affordable housing.

The model facilitates “the next step of our programming,” Woodward said. Residents move into affordable living with fewer restrictions, including no curfew. They are allowed to work second jobs and first-, second- and third-shifts, whereas in the first year of sober living, residents are only allowed to work first shift, program facilitators said.

Additionally, while having the freedom to earn more money, they still are being supported through case management, being held accountable, submitting to drug and alcohol screens, though monthly instead of weekly, Woodward said.

“This helps them transition into the community, build their recovery network independently, build their savings, have minimal accountability, and it’s affordable,” Woodward said. “They still are a part of the community ... and are giving back to current residents who are new in recovery. They will be leaders or mentors for newcomers as well after being successful in our housing program.”

Woodward said there already is a waiting list for the new three-quarter living opportunity.

Gattone said it’s been “a real long process.”

The plans were approved by the city of Woodstock about a year ago. New Directions, a 501c3 charity, received grants from the federal COVID-19 relief American Rescue Plan fund through McHenry County, as well as a HOME Grant through McHenry County Community Development and funding through the county’s Mental Health Board.

But the project has come up “a little bit short,” Gattone said, adding they could still use some donations of cash, as well as construction work. He is hoping a contractor might step up to donate time to help construct the building. Gattone said the project and the work that New Directions has been doing in the community has been well-received.

Gattone said today, New Directions, which began in 2011 and operates several recovery programs including A Way Out, as well as The Other Side sober bar in Crystal Lake, has “created a full continuum of programs for people in early recovery in our community. These programs all work in tandem to treat the whole person.”