Pittsburgh officials hoping to move homeless people from encampments to new shelter

As a new shelter is scheduled to open in Downtown Pittsburgh in the coming weeks, officials said they are hoping to move homeless people from encampments to the new site.

Dubbed Second Avenue Commons, the 45,000-square foot, five-story facility will have 43 single-room apartments and operate year-round. It will be open to adults and their pets and belongings.

Work on Second Avenue Commons is “nearing completion” as the contractor is going through inspections, said Maria Montaño, a spokeswoman for Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey.

“Working with our many partners and providers, we fully expect that the facility will be available and open to adults experiencing homelessness by the Nov. 15 date which has traditionally marked the opening of the winter shelter,” Montaño said in a statement.

Services to help with an array of needs ranging from unemployment to addiction will be available on site. UPMC will operate a medical and behavioral health clinic at the shelter, while Community Kitchen Pittsburgh will operate the kitchen and offer job training opportunities. The building also will house flexible workspaces for a variety of existing street outreach programs.

Related:

• New homeless shelter to open in Downtown Pittsburgh

• Pittsburgh eyes homelessness solutions, including tiny houses

• Pittsburgh City Council looks to give organizations $1.2M to combat homelessness

The $22 million project — spearheaded by PNC’s Realty Services, which oversaw design and construction — took less than three years to complete and was part of a public-private partnership that has involved dozens of organizations, as well as the city and county.

This comes as local leaders have said they are working to address homelessness in the city amid what many have called an affordable housing crisis.