BELLEVILLE — St. Paul's Home will build a $27 million addition to its assisted living facility, which has operated in the city for more than 86 years.

The City Council on Monday voted 14-0 to approve a special use permit for the home, paving the way for a new building at the current address, 1021 W. E St.

Ward 2 Aldewoman Melinda Hult and Ward 3 Alderman Rob Anderson were absent.

"Congratulations, St. Paul's Home and board (of directors), you're off and running," Mayor Mark Eckert said after the vote. "We appreciate you reinvesting in Belleville."

Susan Franklin, executive director of St. Paul's, said a market study showed there was a need for assisted living services in the Belleville area.

"We have real confidence Belleville is the best place to stay," Franklin said.

Franklin said construction is expected to begin in June and she hopes the project will be done long before its set completion date of December 2014.

St. Paul's will continue to provide people 65 years and older with all levels of care -- regardless of income level -- including long- and short-term stays, assisted care and independent living.

The faith-based nonprofit will continue to have the same capacity, about 130 beds, Franklin said.

The new building, however, allows St. Paul's to create a facility based on a "household" concept so residents will feel more like they're living in a house rather than an institution, Franklin said.

"We want people walking through this building to feel like they're walking through their home," Franklin said. "It will give people a lot more options in their daily life."

Residents will be separated by levels of care into six "households." Each houehold will have its own living room and kitchen, and each resident will have a private area with a window.

The new facility will be an U-shaped, brick and cement building, with the center being two stories and each of the sides being three stories.

Once the new home is built, the old nursing home and sheltered care building will be demolished. But the part of the old building that houses the independent living facility will remain and be connected to the new building.

It would have cost the home about $17 million to renovate the current campus.

Franklin said the project still needs approval from the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board of the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Financing details are still being worked out, but St. Paul's does plan to do a capital campaign, Franklin said. The home is managed by St. Andrew's Management Services.

In other news:

* Attendees had a moment of silence for former Belleville alderman Stanley S. Syzdek, who died on Sunday. Syzdek, 80, was a Ward 4 alderman from 1995 to 2011 and the East St. Louis Fire Department assistant chief for 37 years.

Visitation is from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Kurrus Funeral Home, 1773 Frank Scott Parkway West in Belleville. A procession will leave Kurrus at 9 a.m. Friday for a 9:15 a.m. mass of Christian Burial at Saint Henry Catholic Church, 5315 W. Main St. in Belleville.

* Aldermen voted 14-0 to approve a contract and financing for the M360 project, a $494,000 endeavor to make city buildings more energy efficient, including upgrades to indoor lighting systems. Sitton Construction Group will continue to oversee the project.

The project will be financed through a 12-year lease with Commerce Bank at a 3.15 percent fixed interest rate. The city also accepted a $48,700 grant from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Project Foundation to pay for the project.

Contact reporter Jacqueline Lee at jlee@bnd.com or 239-2655. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/BNDBelleville.