The search for a new location for an expanded shelter in Newmarket has been a long time coming, according to Inn From the Cold's executive director.
The organization, which has been seeking a new location since 2017, announced a partnership last week with the Town of Newmarket to build a transitional housing development on a piece of land with a portion donated by the municipality. The project is pending council approval and business review, Ann Watson said.
The location on Yonge Street, near Eagle Street, is perfect, with proximity to a major transit route, as well as Ontario Disability Support Program and Ontario Works offices, she added.
“What we’ve come up with is the best option for our organization,” Watson said. “Inn From the Cold really does serve some of our community’s most vulnerable. We’re not able to do it in a cost-effective manner for where we currently are.”
The shelter plans to build approximately 16 transitional housing units on the stretch of land — up from the four it has in its current locale at 510 Penrose St. The development relies on both the stretch of town land and adjacent property at 17046 Yonge St., which Watson said the organization is close to purchasing.
Watson said they do not want to impact residents near the development, and the narrow size of the property should allow for that.
“Neither property was developable individually. It was only in combination that they were properties that could be used,” she said. “There’s a huge buffer between our building and the residents in the back, and I think that’s really important. We really don’t want to impact the quality of ownership.”
The town’s side of the property has been a site of recent planning controversy. It was originally intended to be used as a part of a pedestrian accessway, connecting Rita's Avenue to Yonge. York Region originally conveyed the land to the town for a walkway, dating back to 1994.
Area resident John Heckbert said he had hoped to petition the municipality to change its decision, as he disagreed with scrapping the original trail route. He said though he has no qualms with development for the homeless, he does not think the town’s alternative is a suitable replacement for the more direct pedestrian walkway.
He added he is concerned by the prospect of the municipality using a worthy development to shield from criticism of the original decision.
“It is not a replacement for this access to transit,” Heckbert said. “The town is making it a replacement, but it is not a good fit.”
Still, the majority of social media reaction to the development has been positive. Watson said people understand the need for transitional housing.
“Transitional housing is a really, really important way to break the cycle of homelessness,” Watson said. “We will really try to work with the community and mitigate any concerns that they might have — and we do that here, where we currently are. We anticipate that the community will get behind this.”
The organization hopes to have the project at least partially completed by late 2022, moving in by next fall. The project still has to go through a planning process, but the municipality said it would inform the public of any updates.
“We just really need to illuminate, to humanize people who are experiencing homelessness,” Watson said. “They’re not an oddity, they’re a product of our society.”
