A 15,000-square-foot building on Rochester's northeast side will be the site of the city's newest homeless shelter.
The House of Mercy is renovating the space at 285 Ormond St. Sister Grace Miller, who leads the charity, says they hope to be done with construction by November, but the opening of the shelter could be delayed until December or even January.
"We're hoping for a sooner date, but it's important that the building get done and get done right so that once we open, we'll be open for good and our homeless will be taken care of," she said.
The new shelter will accommodate up to 90 beds and is three times as large as the organization’s current shelter on Hudson Avenue. The House of Mercy started looking for a larger, permanent space after the Civic Center garage was closed to the homeless two winters ago.
"At that time, 15 or sometimes 100 homeless would be going to the Civic Center garage because it was warm, it was spacious, and they had room,” said Miller. “That was going on for years, and then when the Civic Center garage was closed to the homeless, we became concerned because they were out in all kinds of weather."
The House of Mercy has started a $5 million capital campaign to fund the renovation of the new shelter and to cover the first two years of operating costs.
