Delaying would cause hardship

City council’s plan to review the design for a new shelter for homeless men is unlikely to turn up any cost savings, one official says – meanwhile it will delay construction of a desperately needed facility.

Bill McNabb, executive director of the Brock Mission, said it’s too early to say how long the delay is likely to stretch.

But from his point of view, any delay will cause hardship.

“It’s already been too long – we’re bursting at the seams,” he said.

The ramshackle Brock Mission men’s shelter on Murray St. was torn down earlier this year to make room for a new building on the same property.

Since then, homeless men have been temporarily sheltered in St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church up the street.

Plans for the new shelter have been in the works since 2014. At that time, it was estimated that the cost to build the new facility would be $7.5 million.

But since then the cost of both labour and building material have increased; when the city recently sought a construction firm, all bids came in overbudget.

A new city staff report says costs have ballooned from $7.5 million to $10.7 million – and staff recommended that city council dip into reserve funds to cover the $3.2-million overrun.

But at a meeting on Monday, councillors said no: instead they decided to have staff look for cost savings.

The city isn’t along in this venture, meanwhile: it has two partners.

Peterborough Housing Corporation (a social housing provider) and Brock Mission (a Christian charity) are helping the city build its shelter.

PHC’s role is to oversee construction and then maintain the new facility for the city, while Brock Mission will lease the building and provide programs.

Meanwhile the church that Brock Mission is using as a temporary shelter – St. Paul’s Presbyterian — faces an uncertain future.

It has structural problems that would cost $2 million to fix – too much for the congregation. So they put the church up for sale in January, and it sold earlier this month to developer Clear Global Capital.

The developer hasn’t revealed the plans for the building, but McNabb says Clear Global Capital did offer to allow the homeless men to stay until the new shelter is built.

Still, McNabb said the new Brock Mission was expected open by the end of 2019 – and now it could be considerably longer.

He doesn’t know how long the delay could be, he said, nor does he know how long the developer might accommodate the men.

Although McNabb said he understands why council would seek cost savings, he doubts that the design – from Toronto firm LGA Architectural Partners – can be pared back to save money.

It calls for 30 emergency beds, plus 15 rental rooms for men as to occupy as they search for permanent housing. McNabb said the architects have specified medium-grade, code-compliant finishes – nothing fancy.

“There are no granite countertops we can remove,” he said.