“This is an incredibly special occasion,” Mayor Dave Norris told a big audience at the ground breaking of the First Street Church. “It’s a true labor of love.”

The project, financed by Hollywood director and UVA grad Tom Shadyac, who was on hand, is slated to be completed and ready to shelter the needy by Thanksgiving. A warm and cheerful Shadyac hugged and thanked those in attendance. “His heart is bigger than this sanctuary,” said Norris.

Director Tom Shadyac financed the project, which is slated to open for Thanksgiving.

In 2007, Shadyac purchased the First Street Church with the idea of developing a homeless day shelter. This morning, hundreds of people gathered for the groundbreaking and to see what the structure will look like. The church will be divided in four sections: Kay’s kitchen, a state of the art commercial kitchen; The Day Haven, a place of refuge for the homeless and the needy; the Sanctuary, a non-denominational space that will host musical events, exhibits and community events, and the Annex, a centralized location for all local agencies.

A crowd gathered in the church's sanctuary.

The First Street Project, as it is being called, will become an integral part of the Thomas Jefferson Area Coalition for the Homeless (TJACH). Shadyac said that the current national credit crisis is just smoke and mirrors, and that the current one is, in fact, a “crisis of compassion.”

When asked about why he chose that specific site, Shadyac said that the church was available and “right in the thick of it.” Although he said he is giving back to the people of other communities as well, Shadyac said Virginia holds a special place in his heart. “I love Virginia, it’s part of who I am.”