Micro-shelter community for homeless Londoners targeting January opening — why does the site still look like this?

The city's micro-shelter community for homeless Londoners is supposed to open in January, however the site remains a corn field. Daryl Newcombe explains.

Just weeks away from opening, the location chosen by London City Hall to construct a 60-unit micro-shelter community for homeless Londoners remains a post-harvest corn field.

However, Mayor Josh Morgan points to significant progress behind the scenes.

“Obviously, we want these in place for the winter months,” he said. “I’m very pleased with the staff’s progress overcoming a number of hurdles so far.”

A staff report to the Strategic Priorities and Policy Committee (SPPC) details the progress to date creating the temporary shelter community on a property bounded by Cheese Factory Road and Highway 401.

Sixty shelters have been purchased from Stoney Creek-based manufacturer Fero International Inc. at a cost of $1.26 million.

Morgan had initially directed staff to start welcoming residents before the end of this year, but the delivery date of the shelters (late December) will push the opening into January.

“That was my pressure deadline, [but] not the one that was going to come into play once staff went through all of this,” he explained.

The micro-shelters will be positioned in small clusters around a centralized group of larger trailers that will provide services including washrooms/showers, laundry, kitchen/dining, programming space, and an office.

Existing contracts with local companies have been expanded to include preparing the land, paving an entrance, and installing utilities.

On Wednesday, Canadian company Xpera was chosen as the operator following a competitive bidding process.

“They have extensive experience in helping with temporary housing relocations,” explained the mayor. “They’ve done a lot of work with Emergency Management Ontario when there are forest fires and there are mass relocations.”

Morgan says Xpera has been an operator of choice for the provincial government and has a local office in London.

“Their staff are informed and trained and all of the relevant things,” he explained. “Trauma-informed response, crisis management, first aid, culturally sensitive training. They are a great company that is going to do a great job on the site.”

Morgan explains that Xpera will be supported by local agencies that will provide programming to the residents as they try to secure more permanent housing.

The Ministry of Transportation (MTO) expedited its mandatory review because of the project’s proximity to Highway 401.

A drainage plan and a lighting plan have been completed and submitted to the MTO for approval.

“I want to thank MPP and Minister Rob Flack for his assistance in working through the Ontario government’s processes. He’s been very helpful with this,” the mayor added.

Municipal permits for water and sewer connections are not anticipated to delay the project.

Transportation could be a challenge for residents of the remote property in southeast London.

Currently, there’s a partial London Transit bus route that operates in the industrial area on weekdays from 6:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.

There is no weekend service.

The closest bus stop is approximately 200 meters down a section of Cheese Factory Road that lacks a sidewalk.

The staff report explains that installing a new bus stop closer to the micro-shelter community would have budget implications for the project and require pouring a concrete pad in the winter.

It recommends reassessing the issue in the spring.

“We might have to consider some other methods of transportation in the short term to assist the folks living there,” acknowledged the mayor. “Yes, it will be a cold walk from the transit stop to the location, but when they get there, there will be a warm house.”

Earlier this year council backed spending an estimated $7 million on the micro-shelter project that will operate until April 2027.

Morgan is confident that the micro-shelters will start accepting residents in January.

“We can do all of this work very quickly, and so we still have time,” he said. “I think you’ll see the site transform from pretty much cornfield to fully integrated site in a short period of time.”