REFURBISHED D.C. SHELTER FOR HOMELESS OPENS

Washington's principal shelter for the homeless, which drew national attention as the focus of a long and difficult struggle between homeless activist Mitch Snyder and the Reagan administration, reopened yesterday after a $6.5 million overhaul paid for by the federal government.

Snyder, Mayor Marion Barry and Sen. Mark Hatfield (R-Ore.) joined shelter resident Robert Burrell, 63, in official ribbon-cutting ceremonies.

Snyder and the mayor later toasted the success of the newly named Federal City Shelter at 425 Second St. NW.

But Snyder, who fasted three times in his battle to turn the squalid building into a model homeless shelter, said an additional $5 million is needed to complete renovations on the entire 1,000-bed facility.

"We're very grateful first and foremost to God because that's where all good things come from," said Snyder. "But we still have to come up with another $5 million in the next 60 to 90 days if we're going to have the rest of the building renovated by winter."

When completed, Snyder said, the shelter will be the nation's most comprehensive facility for the homeless, providing medical, mental health and dental services as well as food and overnight lodging.

Yesterday's tour of the second floor revealed a clean, remodeled facility with dormitory-style bathrooms and showers, a gleaming kitchen and tiled dining area and several smaller rooms that will serve as sleeping quarters for groups of residents.

About 400 beds are contained in the unit opened yesterday; another floor opening next week will contain 200 beds.

"This may be as small as a mustard seed, but this is a seed perhaps of restoring a measure of America's true greatness -- and that is how we treat the homeless," said Hatfield, who was instrumental last year in steering the shelter appropriation through the then Republican-controlled Senate.

Snyder's group, the Community for Creative Non-Violence, began operating the shelter three years ago after persuading the Reagan administration to grant it the use of an abandoned federal building.

Under a subsequent compromise, the District government was given title to the building and federal funds were freed for its renovations.

"A great many people have pooled their resources to help the shelter reopen," said Snyder, who singled out the District government's cooperation.

Citing several forms of assistance during the eight-month renovation project for the south side of the building, Snyder said Potomac Electric Power Co. had provided about $300,000 worth of electrical equipment and labor for the center and that inmates at Lorton had made beds for the residents. Free linen came from the Department of Defense, he said.

Snyder said CCNV does not know where the additional $5 million will come from but expects to be able to finish the renovation. "It is inconceivable to us that this facility, which will serve as a model for the nation, will be allowed to remain unfinished," he said. "For us, this project has always been an act of faith."

Barry made it clear during a news conference and afterward that he thinks the federal government should foot the bill. "What the Defense Department spends in 15 seconds could be enough," he said.

Articles appear as they were originally printed in The Washington Post and may not include subsequent corrections.