Six years and a dozen potential moving sites later, Manos House officially has a new home.

The Lancaster city-based drug and alcohol rehab center for teenage boys got the go-ahead this week to move to a 10-acre lot in West Hempfield Township.

Currently crammed into a pair of buildings on South Prince Street, the facility will relocate to the spacious St. Joseph's Convent at 3950 Columbia Ave., said Phil Lehman, executive director.

Lehman hopes to have residents and staff relocated by the spring. Final settlement is expected by year's end.

Financial terms haven't been revealed.

The move was made possible after West Hempfield zoners approved the center with a unanimous 3-0 vote on Monday.

Manos, incorporated as Drug & Alcohol Rehabilitation Services, has been at 121-131 S. Prince St., since its founding in 1972.

For Lehman — and the facility's counselors, teachers and other staffers — the move has been a long time coming.

Lehman said he visited about a dozen potential sites over six years before finding the right fit.

"There are things that we've wanted to do for a number of years," Lehman said after the zoning decision, "but just didn't have the space."

Residents will have larger bedrooms and classrooms at the new site. A bigger building, Lehman said, will improve the learning experience at Manos' state-licensed private school, where residents can earn a diploma or GED.

The major expansion also provides employment opportunities. Additional counselors, resident aids, maintenance workers, teachers and administrators will be brought on board, Lehman said. A full-time cook also will be hired.

The number of residents will grow, too. Currently Manos has 44 residents, but Lehman expects that number to nearly double — eventually.

The facility and zoners agreed on a cap of 80 residents. Lehman said he won't take more than 73, and new boys will be moved in gradually.

Community acceptance has been a gradual process as well. There were initial concerns when Manos first announced plans to pursue the property.

Manos House treats boys who have been charged with drug- or alcohol-related crimes. It's a sort of alternate sentence from prison or juvenile detention centers.

"We understand people have concerns with a program like this," Lehman said. "But, we've always believed we were different from those other programs.

"We have a pretty good track record."

Lehman said he immediately reached out to the community when talks of a potential move began.

He had conversations with the sisters of the convent, sent 180 letters to neighbors, and offered those concerned a walk-through of the current facility. Some people took him up on it.

West Hempfield residents might not even notice their new neighbors. The secluded convent is barely visible from major surrounding arteries: Prospect Road and Columbia Avenue.

"It's about as far away from a neighborhood as you can get in Lancaster County," Lehman said. "People will not know we're there, except for when we do community service projects and providing the township any other assistance we can."

For good measure, Lehman agreed to have a neighbor appointed to the Manos board of directors.

Also, two sisters from the convent will remain in a detached home on the property. Manos will charge them a dollar a year to stay put, Lehman said.

In accordance with the zoning decision, Lehman also agreed to maintain the property and limit traffic on Locust Grove Road.

The current Manos property will be sold to Andrew T. Scheid Funeral Home for an undisclosed price.

Andrew Scheid confirmed Friday that he will buy the property, which was a funeral home site until the 1970s, after receiving approval last month from the city zoning board.

bhambright@lnpnews.com