Mark King believes the new Gateway House will be a "Game Changer" in terms of locally combating the homeless problem within the City of North Bay.
The Chair of the District of Nipissing Social Services Administration Board was talking about the Gateway House, which is the former OPP building located on the same property as the Low Barrier Shelter on Chippewa Street.
King says these 16 new transitional beds will open at the new building within the next two weeks and are currently going through the inspection process.
"That will take some pressure off the low barrier shelter," said King about the facility that has been under public scrutiny.
"The hope is that those people will move from low barrier shelter to transitional accommodations with support systems directly in the building 24/7. That has always been the plan."
See related: Old OPP building to become homeless shelter
King adds that construction will be starting on further transitional housing on the northeast corner of the former OPP building.
"Those will be modular in design and they will go up quite quickly," noted King.
"I believe the construction is right now at the permit stage and the foundation should be in as soon as the frost is out of the ground."
King hopes the new transitional housing will help eliminate the encampment situation that has been present in many portions of the city last summer and fall including a small tent city in front of City Hall.
"The complex at the Gateway House was really to take people off of the street, put them in an environment where they at least get them some support systems and hopefully move them away from encampments," said King.
The building has been vacant for a decade was put up for sale in Dec. 2018 and sold to a local private developer.
