A plan to rebuild the Brock Mission men’s shelter in Peterborough received unanimous support from the new city council Monday night.

Sitting as Committee of the Whole, council threw its support behind the redesign, despite the fact the project is still coming in $1.75 million over budget.

Council voted to transfer the property from Peterborough Housing Corporation to Brock Mission, a not-for-profit.

“This is a huge step for us,” said Bill McNabb, director of the Brock Mission.

The City of Peterborough has applied for up to $5.3 million in federal funding for the project, which had previously come in $3.2 million over budget.  That cost overrun put the project on hold back in July.

“There is that silver lining that we were able to apply for that federal housing fund,” said Coun. Lesley Parnell.

The plan is to rebuild the facility on the old Brock Mission property on Murray Street. It will have 30 emergency beds and 15 rental rooms.

The old facility was torn down in 2017.

Currently, the shelter is operating out of a temporary facility at St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church.

However, that church, which has its own structural issues, isn’t expected to be used for much longer.

“I have a promise from the owner of the building that he won’t put the men out in the winter,” added Parnell. “Beyond that, I don’t have an answer for you.”

“There’s no guarantees at this stage of the game, but they’re working with us,” added McNabb. “We are quite hopeful our agreement will continue.”

A fundraising campaign is underway for the project.

“Anybody out there can donate supplies, materials and qualified labour. That counts towards the fundraising and taking it off the bottom line,” added Parnell. “If you can donate doors, windows and trusses, we would gratefully accept those donations. Come and help build the new Brock Mission.”

The hope is to have construction begin in the spring, with completion slated for summer 2020.

Councillors approved adding the project to the 2019 budget on Monday night. The decisions made are subject to approval at the regular council meeting on Dec. 10.

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