Mission Services leaving longtime James North location in downtown Hamilton

Mission Services plans to move its downtown Hamilton men's shelter to a larger, renovated building.

The move is part of a deal with local developer Core Urban, which has purchased the James Street North property.

Core Urban is refurbishing a three-storey building on King Street East, just east of Wellington Street South, to serve as the new men's shelter.

With the move, Mission Services retains its 58 emergency beds and adds 50 self-contained, transitional-housing spaces.

But the relocation isn't without controversy.

Coun. Nrinder Nann points to an overconcentration" of shelters and related services in her central Hamilton ward.

Mission Services, meanwhile, says it couldn't pass up the 400 King St. E. site.

When this opportunity came along in this location, in terms of our needs to be able to serve our clients, it was a good fit," said Wendy Kennelly, associate executive director.

Core Urban is excited to pick up the Mission Services property at James and Barton, where a pair of three-storey buildings stand.

It's a great corner. It's a gateway to the waterfront," co-founder Steve Kulakowsky said.

For now, the plan is to retrofit office space there, but down the road, he sees a mix of denser residential and commercial development on the site.

When it comes time, whatever we do at James and Barton will fit in with the neighbourhood."

Core Urban's previous work includes the six-storey Templar Flats on King William Street, which added to two buildings and includes ground-level eateries.

This isn't the first time the firm has worked with Mission Services.

It bought the social-service agency's brick schoolhouse location on Murray Street, just north of Barton, and turned it into the six-storey Witton Lofts in 2013.

Would-be buyers have approached Mission Services numerous times" over the years, Kennelly said. The shelter has been on James North since 1956.

The discussion that I always had with them was we would be open, but you need to find us a suitable location. It has to be a better facility than what we have."

Proximity to services was also key. That's important for the clients that we serve," Kennelly said.

The 400 King location is close to St. Patrick Parish, where people line up for meals, and not far from Wesley Urban Ministries' day centre on Catharine Street North.

Kennelly and Kulakowsky declined to discuss the financial details of the transaction.

According to property records, Core Urban bought 400 King from the Red Cross for $3.15 million in January.

When the work is done - the goal is before winter hits - the property will be handed over to Mission Services.

The century-old brick building, which was covered in cladding, has potential, Kulakowsky said.

The big timber beams and posts ... will be in the shelter. Just because it's a shelter doesn't mean it can't be attractive both on the outside and the inside."

The moving plans come amid a homelessness crisis that deepened during the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the public health emergency, the city added shelter spaces, including in hotel rooms and at the former Cathedral school at Main Street East and Emerald Street South.

That Good Shepherd-operated service opened to replace a converted surge shelter at FirstOntario Centre downtown, which was decommissioned in late 2020.

But pandemic-relief funding from senior levels of government has dried up, and the city is planning to wind down those temporary beds as part of a transition plan.

On Friday, council backed $22.5 million in enhancements to the base shelter system as part of the phased strategy.

This is not a one-for-one replacement," Angie Burden, general manager of healthy and safe communities, told city politicians during an initial committee discussion Thursday.

The shelter system was under strain before coronavirus, which only made matters worse, she said. But the era of pandemic-level support from senior levels of government is over.

It really is a funding issue at this point," Burden said.

Council asked staff to verify building permits and land-use approvals as a condition of $3 million in capital funding for Mission Services' new shelter.

Nann said the request boils down to due diligence and transparency" in response to concerns of Ward 3 residents. There is a narrative afloat that this is some sort of secret agenda."

But she emphasized Mission Services' good work," adding, there is no no' here" to the funding.

A day earlier at the emergency and community services committee, Nann thanked residents for their compassion" for social services like the temporary Cathedral shelter in their midst.

It hasn't been an easy road to walk together because of the complexity of issues that individuals who are facing houselessness contend with on a daily basis."

That has left residents feeling very uncomfortable, very uneasy" for two years.

Nann praised Good Shepherd's efforts - there should a shelter of this magnitude" in every ward - but Ward 3 has an overconcentration" of such services.

Moreover, as we make room for private development in the downtown core, we are displacing populations that have been historically served and cared for in neighbourhoods in Ward 2."

Now, another shelter is leaving downtown for her constituency, Nann said.

There's no secret mandate or conspiracy" to move social-service organizations to his colleague's territory, Coun. Jason Farr responded.

This has nothing to do with anybody in Ward 2, including this ward councillor, trying to move them along to Ward 3."

Some, however, have said they'd like to see another downtown shelter relocated.

A development consortium that has landed a deal with the city to refurbish its entertainment venues has asked the Salvation Army to consider moving its men's shelter from York Boulevard if another agreeable location can be found.

As for Mission Services, it's not being forced to leave James North, Kennelly said.

There was no sense that we felt that we had to move out of that neighbourhood. I think we've been good neighbours there."

But the aging buildings have posed challenges and limited expansion opportunities, Kennelly said.

We weren't about to add storeys on top of those ancient, old buildings to be able to offer new additional services."

And the future, purpose-built King East building will offer several advantages, including a new HVAC system and elevator, as well as a superior floor plan, kitchen and dining area.

We're really excited about it because we think that adding these 50 beds is a great solution," Kennelly added.

Mission Services didn't want to publicize moving plans until certain details, including the city funding, were ironed out, she said.

But the plan is to hold a feedback and information session soon. We absolutely intend to meet with the community."

Teviah Moro is a reporter at The Spectator. tmoro@thespec.com