924 Sydenham Road

Opening a New Emergency Shelter

With a goal of moving toward the wind-down and eventual closure of Adelaide Street Shelter, Council approved the acquisition of the property at 924 Sydenham Road with the intention of opening shelter services at this location by the end of 2025.

Update: Formation of Community Liaison Committee

The mandate of the Community Liaison Committee (CLC) is to provide a means of connecting near neighbours, business owners, site operators and City support teams to share information, identify concerns and challenges, determine mitigation strategies and support the successful integration of this project into the broader Sydenham Road community. Committee members are guided by the approved Terms of Reference.

Review the Terms of Reference for the Sydenham Road Emergency Shelter Community Liaison Committee.

The Terms of Reference may be adjusted following the initial meeting of the CLC, which is expected to take place in Fall 2025.

Applications

Further details and the process for applying to be a member of the Community Liaison Committee will be published on this page in the near future. Project followers will be notified once the applications are live. Please follow this page for updates.

Request for Proposal (RFP)

The Request for Proposal has been made available to service providers. Review the Request for Proposal on Biddingo.

Shelter Operations

This new shelter will have a minimum 30 bed capacity, with room for an additional 15 beds as needed, and especially in consideration of the annual increased need for shelter beds seen each winter. The shelter will offer emergency shelter services to individuals experiencing homelessness, The shelter will be fully staffed and will offer space for couples, pets and the overnight storage of personal items. Showers and limited meal services will be offered on site. In addition to shelter services, the shelter operator will work with clients to connect to individualized case management to support individuals working to transition into housing beyond emergency shelter services.

Shelter operations will be contracted out and an operator will be selected following the City’s procurement By-Law Request for Proposals (RFP) process.

The shelter operations at 924 Sydenham Road will be operated out of a modular shelter structure to be installed on the property. This approach supports a number of desired outcomes: it allows for the rapid development of new shelter options in new locations; it reduces municipal costs by avoiding costly renovations; it allows the modular component(s) of the shelter(s) to be eventually removed and deployed elsewhere in the City for similar or alternate municipal purpose, and it allows properties acquired by the City to be developed over time to other municipal uses – including the potential future development of transitional and affordable housing responsive to future needs along the housing continuum.

In the short term, the existing house on the property will remain and be utilized to support the shelter services as office or storage spaces, and/or as additional emergency housing support in the form of pre-transitional and or congregate living accommodations. These opportunities would be included as part of the RFP process and defined within the scope of services to be delivered by the future site operator.

Accessibility

The new modular emergency shelter building will be fully accessible and offer accessible space in all shared congregate areas.

Community Integration and Community Liaison Committee

The City is committed to providing ongoing updates, receiving questions, and guiding a constructive community-led engagement process to those neighbourhoods nearest to 924 Sydenham Road. The intent is to ensure clear and consistent communication with the community and raise awareness of future engagement opportunities designed to hear concerns and to collaborate on how this new shelter location can be successfully integrated into the surrounding community

Moving forward this will include near neighbour community meetings and the creation of a Community Liaison Committee. The CLC is a means of connecting near neighbours, business owners, site operators and City support teams to share information, address questions, discuss challenges and collaborate on integrating housing services into neighbourhoods and addressing community concerns.

Upcoming community meeting dates are posted on the right side of this page, under Key Dates. Questions about the new shelter can be shared using the question tool below. Staff will aggregate questions by theme and respond through the frequently asked questions section of this project page.

Meeting notes, presentations, council reports and news releases will be shared through the links and related documents section of this project page.

Opening a New Emergency Shelter

With a goal of moving toward the wind-down and eventual closure of Adelaide Street Shelter, Council approved the acquisition of the property at 924 Sydenham Road with the intention of opening shelter services at this location by the end of 2025.

Update: Formation of Community Liaison Committee

The mandate of the Community Liaison Committee (CLC) is to provide a means of connecting near neighbours, business owners, site operators and City support teams to share information, identify concerns and challenges, determine mitigation strategies and support the successful integration of this project into the broader Sydenham Road community. Committee members are guided by the approved Terms of Reference.

Review the Terms of Reference for the Sydenham Road Emergency Shelter Community Liaison Committee.

The Terms of Reference may be adjusted following the initial meeting of the CLC, which is expected to take place in Fall 2025.

Applications

Further details and the process for applying to be a member of the Community Liaison Committee will be published on this page in the near future. Project followers will be notified once the applications are live. Please follow this page for updates.

Request for Proposal (RFP)

The Request for Proposal has been made available to service providers. Review the Request for Proposal on Biddingo.

Shelter Operations

This new shelter will have a minimum 30 bed capacity, with room for an additional 15 beds as needed, and especially in consideration of the annual increased need for shelter beds seen each winter. The shelter will offer emergency shelter services to individuals experiencing homelessness, The shelter will be fully staffed and will offer space for couples, pets and the overnight storage of personal items. Showers and limited meal services will be offered on site. In addition to shelter services, the shelter operator will work with clients to connect to individualized case management to support individuals working to transition into housing beyond emergency shelter services.

Shelter operations will be contracted out and an operator will be selected following the City’s procurement By-Law Request for Proposals (RFP) process.

The shelter operations at 924 Sydenham Road will be operated out of a modular shelter structure to be installed on the property. This approach supports a number of desired outcomes: it allows for the rapid development of new shelter options in new locations; it reduces municipal costs by avoiding costly renovations; it allows the modular component(s) of the shelter(s) to be eventually removed and deployed elsewhere in the City for similar or alternate municipal purpose, and it allows properties acquired by the City to be developed over time to other municipal uses – including the potential future development of transitional and affordable housing responsive to future needs along the housing continuum.

In the short term, the existing house on the property will remain and be utilized to support the shelter services as office or storage spaces, and/or as additional emergency housing support in the form of pre-transitional and or congregate living accommodations. These opportunities would be included as part of the RFP process and defined within the scope of services to be delivered by the future site operator.

Accessibility

The new modular emergency shelter building will be fully accessible and offer accessible space in all shared congregate areas.

Community Integration and Community Liaison Committee

The City is committed to providing ongoing updates, receiving questions, and guiding a constructive community-led engagement process to those neighbourhoods nearest to 924 Sydenham Road. The intent is to ensure clear and consistent communication with the community and raise awareness of future engagement opportunities designed to hear concerns and to collaborate on how this new shelter location can be successfully integrated into the surrounding community

Moving forward this will include near neighbour community meetings and the creation of a Community Liaison Committee. The CLC is a means of connecting near neighbours, business owners, site operators and City support teams to share information, address questions, discuss challenges and collaborate on integrating housing services into neighbourhoods and addressing community concerns.

Upcoming community meeting dates are posted on the right side of this page, under Key Dates. Questions about the new shelter can be shared using the question tool below. Staff will aggregate questions by theme and respond through the frequently asked questions section of this project page.

Meeting notes, presentations, council reports and news releases will be shared through the links and related documents section of this project page.

  • Update: Formation of Community Liaison Committee

    The mandate of the Community Liaison Committee (CLC) is to provide a means of connecting near neighbours, business owners, site operators and City support teams to share information, identify concerns and challenges, determine mitigation strategies and support the successful integration of this project into the broader Sydenham Road community. Committee members are guided by the approved Terms of Reference.

    Review the Terms of Reference for the Sydenham Road Emergency Shelter Community Liaison Committee.

    The Terms of Reference may be adjusted following the initial meeting of the CLC, which is expected to take place in Fall 2025.

    Applications

    Further details and the process for applying to be a member of the Community Liaison Committee will be published on this page in the near future. Project followers will be notified once the applications are live. Please follow this page for updates.

    Request for Proposal (RFP)

    The Request for Proposal has been made available to service providers. Review the Request for Proposal on Biddingo.

  • New FAQ Responses Now Available

    We’re pleased to share that new responses to frequently asked questions are now available on the project page. These updates reflect the ongoing conversations we’re having with community members at in-person meetings, questions sent through Get Involved Kingston and comments and questions shared with the project team through your District Councillor.

    We continue to work closely with agency partners such as Kingston Police to provide answers to your questions and appreciate your patience while we’ve worked to compile this information on Get Involved Kingston.

    As the project moves forward, we encourage you to stay involved by letting us know how you’d like to participate. Visit the project pages to read the latest updates and share your input.

  • Community update

    Community meeting presentation available online

    On May 29, we hosted a Near Neighbour Meeting at Christ Church Cataraqui from 6 to 7:30 p.m. to share updates about the new temporary emergency shelter. The session was moderated by Jennifer Campbell, Commissioner, Community Services, and included opening remarks from District Councillor Paul Chaves and a presentation by Jayne Hartley, Director, Housing and Social Services. Approximately 200 residents in the neighbourhood surrounding the future shelter site attended and had the opportunity to hear more details on the proposed operations and site plan for the temporary emergency shelter and ask questions of City staff and Kingston Police. We sincerely appreciate the time that everyone took to attend the May 29 meeting.

    The slides from the presentation are available on Get Involved Kingston. We want to ensure that neighbours who weren't able to attend can access the presentation (which is included below). If you require the presentation in an alternate format, please contact us.

    Questions and answers

    Questions received through the webpage and during the May 29 meeting have been themed and answered in the Frequently Asked Questions section of the project page. The FAQ section will continue to be updated as more questions and comments come in.

    If you have questions about the temporary emergency shelter, please share them with us using the form on Get Involved Kingston.

    Next steps

    A follow up meeting is being planned to continue the conversation with community and near neighbours on this shelter project and to begin developing a community liaison committee. As details are finalized they will be shared so we would encourage you to Follow the Project or contact us to receive these updates by email.

    Thank you,

    The 924 Sydenham Road Project Team

  • May 29 Near Neighbour Meeting Presentation Slides

    On May 29, we hosted a Near Neighbour Meeting at Christ Church Cataraqui from 6 to 7:30 p.m. to share updates about the new emergency shelter. The session was moderated by Jennifer Campbell, Commissioner, Community Services, and included opening remarks from District Councillor Paul Chaves and a presentation by Jayne Hartley, Director, Housing and Social Services. Approximately 200 residents in the neighbourhood surrounding the 924 Sydenham Road Shelter site attended and had the opportunity to ask questions of City staff and Kingston Police. We sincerely appreciate the time that everyone took to attend the May 29 meeting.

    While we work to compile all of the questions received during the meeting in order to theme and respond to concerns raised, we want to ensure that neighbours who weren't able to attend can access the presentation (which is included below). If you require the presentation in an alternate format, please contact us.

    If you have questions about the shelter, please share them with us using the form here on Get Involved Kingston. To report a concern with clean up on public property, use our Service Request portal on MyKingston. Reports to Kingston Police can be filed online or by calling 613-549-4660. In emergencies, please call 911.

    Slide 1: Near Neighbour Meeting


    Slide 2: Land Acknowledgement     Slide 3: Agenda and guidelines for participation Slide 4: Emergency house responses Slide 5: New Emergency Shelters Transitional/Supportive Housing Slide 6: Location of 994 Sydenham


    Slide 7: Operations/Services


    Slide 8: Building


    Slide 9: Operations/Staffing


    Slide 10: Site Plan


    Slide 11: Layout


    Slide 12: Community Liaison Committee


    Slide 13: Major Milestones


    Slide 14: How can I be involved?


    Slide 15: Agenda and guidelines for particiaption


    Slide 16: Meet the team


    Slide 17: Frequently Heard Questions and Community Concerns



    Slide 18: Why was there no earlier consultation on selection of this site? Why this site?


    Slide 19: Encampments in greenspace and cemetery


    Slide 20: Increased drug use and un-desired activities in area?


    Slide 21: People hanging around the site when overnight shelter operations end?


    Slide 22: Questions?



  • City Council Approves Property Purchase for Temporary Emergency Shelter Operations

    The City of Kingston is committed to evolving emergency shelter and transitional or supportive housing services to better support people in the community who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness. With clear Council direction and support, we are taking steps to provide timely assistance to those in need throughout Kingston.

    As has been previously shared, the City is moving to wind down the temporary shelter services offered at Adelaide Street Shelter and has been advancing work on various properties within the city to relocate these existing shelter services to new locations. Tonight, May 6, 2025, Council approved the purchase of 924 Sydenham Rd. with the plan to develop an emergency shelter on this site and to relocate a portion of the services that are currently offered at Adelaide Street Shelter to this new location.

    This new shelter will have a minimum 30 bed capacity, with room for an additional expansion of 15 beds as needed, and especially in consideration of the annual increased need for shelter beds seen each winter.

    Acquisition Process

    Council has provided direction to continue moving services across a broader geography to ensure that the concentration of housing/shelter services does not continue to disproportionately affect specific districts or further concentrate and thereby stigmatize vulnerable populations. With this in mind, the City has been seeking locations for new shelter and transitional/supportive housing projects that are increasingly geographically dispersed, are on or near to transit routes, that are appropriately sized to support smaller scale operations for ease of community integration and that offer opportunities to be redeveloped/repurposed in future and in alignment to needs along the housing continuum.

    For all property acquisitions, the City follows Section 239(2)(c) of the Municipal Act, 2001 (the Act) which provides that a meeting may be closed to the public if the subject matter being considered is a proposed or pending acquisition or disposition of land by the municipality or local board. This is the process the City has followed for all its affordable, transitional, and supportive housing and other property acquisitions. Once a property is selected for acquisition, this intent is then voted on in an open session of Council.

    924 Sydenham Road was purchased for $2,450,000, with up to $65,000 for related closing costs. Should the City opt to sell the property in the future, staff would allocate funds to the Housing and Homelessness Reserve to support future housing developments at a different location.

    Engagement Approach

    Members of Council, neighbours, partner agencies and City staff are equally important in helping integrate shelter services into communities.

    The City is committed to providing ongoing updates, receiving questions, and guiding a constructive community-led engagement process to those neighbourhoods that will see the creations of new shelters. The intent is to ensure clear and consistent communication with the community and raise awareness of future engagement opportunities designed to hear concerns and to collaborate on how sites can be successfully integrated into their neighbourhoods.

    Where appropriate, new shelter projects will host near neighbour community meetings and move toward the creation of Community Liaison Committees (CLC). CLCs are a means of connecting near neighbours, business owners, site operators and City support teams to share information, address questions, discuss challenges and collaborate on integrating housing services into neighbourhoods and addressing community concerns.

    The City will proactively seek to support those who have not historically been included in housing engagement initiatives, including people with lived experience of homelessness, youth, and members of marginalized communities.

    Get Involved

    The City acknowledges that community members will have many questions, suggestions and concerns regarding the creation of new shelters and the wind down of shelter services at Adelaide Street Shelter. Moving forward information on emergency housing projects currently underway will be shared to Get Involved Kingston regularly and community members are encouraged to click Follow Project on the various project pages to receive site specific updates.

    To learn more about how the City of Kingston is expanding housing options and working to improve service to people who are unhoused or precariously housed, visit our Strategic Priorities.

  • Taking Strategic Action on Emergency Shelter Services

    The City of Kingston is committed to adapting emergency shelter services to better support people in the community who are experiencing homelessness and is taking steps to address homelessness and provide timely assistance to those in need throughout Kingston. By investing $6,280,000 from the 2025 approved capital budget -- including a $280,000 contribution from the Community Benefit Fund -- the City is moving to wind down the temporary shelter services offered at Adelaide Street Shelter later this year and has been advancing work on various properties within the city to relocate existing shelter services to new locations.

    How Delegated Authority Helps Us Address Unique Challenges

    The City’s By-Law Number 2022-154, A By-Law to Establish a Procurement Policy (the Procurement Bylaw) sets out processes for how the City approaches purchasing and signing contracts. Depending on what is being purchased or how complex a contract is, these processes can take months to prepare, issue, review and award.

    On April 1, 2025, Council delegated authority to the Chief Administrative Officer, Chief Financial Officer or their delegates to proceed directly to the non-standard procurement method identified in the Procurement Bylaw. This delegated authority helps the City open new shelter services as soon as possible by expediting purchases associated with shelter developments such as service contracts with trades, renovation materials, temporary structures, and furniture.

    Staff will report back on contracts awarded as part of the monthly Delegation of Authority information report to Council.

    Future Plans and Property Acquisition

    Acknowledging the pressures associated with larger shelter sites, as well as recognizing people can experience homelessness in all areas of the community, t he City is actively reviewing property options with the understanding that any acquired or leased property will require renovations, additional servicing or infrastructure needs, or temporary structures.

    Property acquisitions themselves must still be approved by Council and are not included in the delegated authority approved by Council on April 1, 2025.

    For all property acquisitions, the City follows Section 239(2)(c) of the Municipal Act, 2001 (the Act) which provides that a meeting may be closed to the public if the subject matter being considered is a proposed or pending acquisition or disposition of land by the municipality or local board. This is the process the City has followed for all its affordable, transitional, and supportive housing and other property acquisitions.

    To learn more about how the City of Kingston is expanding housing options and working to improve service to people who are unhoused or precariously housed, visit our Strategic Priorities.

Page last updated: 03 Sep 2025, 04:55 PM