Tompkins County officials announced plans to purchase 227 Cherry St. in Ithaca for $1.1 million to develop a long-term homeless shelter facility on Tuesday. The Tompkins County Legislature will vote on the property acquisition at its Dec. 3 meeting.
The Cherry St. site, which is located near several pre-existing homeless encampments, was chosen after an extensive search of over a dozen locations, according to a Tuesday statement from Tompkins County. Expected to open in 2026 or 2027, the shelter will house up to 100 people with limited requirements for entry.
This announcement follows the Nov. 7 closing of the St. John’s Community Services shelter — Tompkin County’s only emergency homeless shelter. The shelter announced its closing when county officials and the shelter’s operator were unable to come to a contract renewal agreement. SJCS originally planned to close mid-November, but closed early due to “staff capacity issues.”
The county has allocated an additional $1 million toward development costs. Additionally, it plans to apply for $6.1 million in New York State Homeless Housing and Assistance Program funds in 2025.
The Code Blue program requires all New York State counties to provide shelter for all individuals at night when temperatures are expected to drop below freezing with wind chill for at least two consecutive hours. In response to immediate sheltering needs, Tompkins County has implemented several temporary measures.
To accommodate for the loss of SCJS, Tompkins County has repurposed the vacant KeyBank building on Tioga Street as a temporary Code Blue shelter. The facility, which opened on Nov. 26, will operate from November through April and provide overnight accommodations for 60 to 80 people from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. daily.
During the day, warming centers will be available at the Human Services Building Lobby at 320 W. Martin Luther King Jr. St. and the Code Blue facility between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m., according to an Oct. 29 Tompkins County statement.
Tompkins County has also expanded its Temporary Housing Assistance program, increasing capacity from 26 to 90 beds by partnering with local motels. The program, which is administered by the Tompkins County Department of Social Services, provides emergency housing and cash assistance to individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
Individuals seeking shelter in the motels must be sober or participating in addiction recovery counseling, employed or seeking employment, have nowhere else to stay and not receive income or public assistance above a certain amount, according to the Ithaca Voice.
“This project can only be successful with the involvement of the community,” said Daniel Klein, Chairman of the Tompkins County Legislature, at a Tuesday press conference. “We will hear from people with lived experience of homelessness, service providers, and experts before a shovel ever hits the ground on this site.”
Liddy Bargar, Director of Housing Initiatives at the Tompkins County Human Services Coalition and Staff Lead for the Tompkins County Continuum of Care, addressed the interconnected issues of homelessness and housing stability at the Tuesday press conference.
“Emergency shelter is one component of the homeless response system, but it alone will not solve homelessness,” Bargar said. “It will take additional permanent supportive housing, targeted outreach and case management, and continued collaboration to reach our goals.”
Isabella Pazmino-Schell ’28 is a Sun contributor and can be reached at [email protected]Reem Nasrallah ’28 contributed reporting.