LYNN — The Lynn Shelter Association recently received two large donations to support the reconstruction and relocation to its new building at the former Hotel Osmund on Washington Street. The shelter, which is currently located across the street in the same building as My Brother’s Table, received a $650,000 from the Federal Home Loan Bank. They then received another $500,000 from an anonymous donor.
Over the past two and a half years, the shelter has raised $2.75 million in donations from donors including the Cummings Foundation, the Mifflin Foundation, the CharlesBank Homes Foundation and $1 million from the city.
All of the money has been put aside to be used for renovations and new materials for the shelter’s new location, which is predicted to cost around $5 million.
To obtain the rest of the money for this project, the shelter’s Executive Director Mark Evans said they are speaking with the state and other donors, and he encourages everyone who can to donate.
The current shelter is 500 square feet, while the new building will offer the shelter about 10,000 square feet.
The shelter’s location in the current building is in the basement, where the air conditioner doesn’t always work during the summers.
The shelter now owns the entire building across the street from their current location and Evans said the restaurant located on the first floor is looking to relocate, so the shelter will use the entire first floor for beds.
The upper floors will offer permanent supportive housing for formerly-homeless individuals and families. The indoor space will also be multipurpose, offering day programming and activities like therapeutic trauma-informed yoga.
“These are things we’ve always wanted to do, but we’ve just never had the space for,” Evans said.
The increase in space will not increase the number of beds or capacity the shelter currently has; Evans said they want to make the space a more humane experience for people experiencing homelessness.
Prior to COVID-19, the shelter had 40 beds, with an overflow of 60. Since COVID-19 began, the shelter now has 23 beds with a small overflow. The bodega that was previously located on the first floor of the shelter’s new building moved out, so Evans said they have been using that space for overflow beds.
The building of the shelter’s new location is about 120 years old, so Evans said it will be a big project to move. The first phase, which included fixing structural flaws throughout the building to ensure its safety, was recently completed.
Evans said they are now waiting for the final cost estimate of the relocation as well as the final drawings from architects.
“Because it’s an old building and we’re spending a significant amount of money, we’re going to need to update the building in a number of ways,” Evans said.
Some of these updates include putting in a sprinkler system for the entire building — and maybe an elevator.
Evans said they also plan to turn the parking lot in the back into a courtyard. When driving down Washington Street, Evans said there are always people hanging out in front of the shelter and around the neighboring streets. This, he said, is because the shelter doesn’t have a designated outdoor space. He said while this is “not a great look for the city”, it’s also not a great look for the people hanging out there. He added that he once had a client tell him that he was sitting in front of the shelter and someone he went to high school with drove by and took a picture of him.
With a courtyard, Evans said, these people will be able to have their own confidential space to hang out.
“We think (this project) is going to be really good for the city of Lynn,” Evans said.
The shelter plans to put the project out to bid in the fall.
Allysha Dunnigan can be reached at [email protected].
