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SALT LAKE CITY — Five potential locations are being considered for a new large homeless campus with 1,200 emergency shelter beds.
The locations were listed on a Utah Office of Homeless Services memo that surfaced late last month. It contained seven locations but two ultimately were deemed unsuitable.
The five Salt Lake County locations include the Lee Kay Conservation Center, at approximately 2100 South and 7200 West; Standlee Warehouse at 5 S. 5100 West; Salt Lake County Oxbow Jail site, 3148 S. 1100 West; several parcels in the Beck Street area; and at Bacchus Highway at approximately 5600 S. Bacchus Highway.
State homeless coordinator Wayne Niederhauser confirmed that the five properties are among those being considered for the campus site. He said the Utah Office of Homeless Services is "still in the process of actively evaluating numerous locations."
The site for a new homeless campus must have a minimum of 30 neighboring acres, as required by a proposal passed unanimously by the Utah Homeless Service Board last month. The search is not limited to Salt Lake County and could include sites along the Wasatch Front.
"We probably won't use all those acres initially, but we don't want to be looking for additional property in five or 10 years. We want to have the ability to expand. We're thinking about the future. We're thinking 50- to 100-year decision now — having the ability to flex for future, add additional beds and resources to a more centralized campus," Niederhauser explained.
The site will need to include "access to essential infrastructure, public transportation, and critical services," the office noted.
The Utah Legislature allocated $25 million in its 2023 session for a new 600- to 800-bed emergency homeless shelter. The board's approval of the proposal and the state's active search for a location signal movement toward an expansion of the state's homeless shelter system.
The state's argument for a larger shelter
The state's former largest emergency shelter, the Road Home, sheltered up to 1,100 individuals and was shut down in 2019 in favor of a "dispersed" shelter model, starting with three shelters whose capacity was capped at around 700 beds. Following the Road Home's closure, many expressed concerns that the three shelters wouldn't meet the needs.
Those concern proved to be true, as Salt Lake County scrambles each winter to create a Winter Response Plan to supply overflow beds for those experiencing homelessness.
"For the last three years, Salt Lake County had needed to create up to 800 to 900 winter overflow beds. Increasing shelter capacity is imperative to ensure individuals experiencing homelessness have a safe place to go in the winter. Planning for additional beds every winter is an inefficient use of local and state resources," Niederhauser said.
The need for a larger shelter is demonstrated through the rising number of Utahns experiencing homelessness. Last year alone, 10,000 Utahns experienced homelessness for the first time (24% increase since 2021: 7,912 in 2021 to 9,838 in 2022). Unsheltered homelessness has also increased over the years (16% increase since 2022: 872 in 2022 to 1,008 in 2024).
The Utah Office of Homeless Services expects the trend to continue amid increasing housing costs and the lingering impact of COVID-19. There's a "critical gap" in the current system which needs 1,200 additional beds in Salt Lake County to adequately serve the community, according to a Utah Office of Homeless Services analysis.
"If we were to pursue only scattered site models to meet this need, it would require numerous sites across multiple communities leading to fragmentation and inefficiencies," said Niederhauser.
How is this different?
Questions have been raised on how the campus shelter site would be different than the former Road Home shelter located near Rio Grande and whether the proposal undermined investments made into current homeless resource centers.
"The shelter at the Rio Grande was mostly shelter, with some case management — the resource centers became a step up from that with more resources available," Niederhauser said. "The downtown community shelter was never intended to serve as many people as it was at the time of its closure."
The campus model intends to provide access to a variety of services in one centralized location. Individuals will be able to receive case management, health care, food, access to job services and other service providers in one location. The coordination of care across a single campus intends to reduce the time and effort required for individuals to seek help.
"The system needs to be dynamic. We have changing circumstances and needs as time progresses and I see our response progressing as those needs and circumstances become apparent to us," Niederhauser said.
That dynamic system doesn't exclude current homeless resource centers across the system.
"The existing resource centers will be a vital part of the homeless response system and it gives us some opportunities with a more centralized, large facility, to utilize the other facilities in some ways that we've never been able to utilize them before," he said. "We're looking into those things, doing some research. Are there some subpopulations that have some specific needs that could be addressed in one of those facilities? But regardless of all that we need every single bed that we have; those beds will be vital."
The central campus will only serve single adults, added the Utah Office of Homeless Services. The family response system will remain separate.
Next steps
The state faces a deadline with the proposal requiring that three locations be presented to the board by the Utah Office of Homeless Services by Dec. 15. Following approval of a site, a master plan which will include the roles of current resource centers should be presented to the Utah Homeless Service Board by Jan. 15, 2025.
"Once a site is selected, our process will include meaningful engagement with community members and key stakeholders to share plans, gather input, and address concerns," Niederhauser said.
