ITHACA, NY (607NewsNow) – Tompkins County is looking at plans for a permanent homeless shelter on Cherry Street in Ithaca. 

On March 12, Monica McCullough, founder and president of the Rochester-based MM Development Advisors, previewed the latest preliminary plans to the county’s Health and Human Services Committee.

As currently proposed, the building would be three stories with common areas, intake rooms, resident storage, a full-size commercial kitchen, and office space on the first floor.

In total, the shelter would have 80 residential beds located on the second and third floors. The second floor features open-style housing with single and bunk beds, bathrooms, a laundry room, storage, and staff offices.

Proposed first floor plans of the future Tompkins County dedicated shelter.

The third-floor layout is similar, albeit smaller.

The beds on the third floor would be a mix of single and double individual rooms. McCullough says it allows flexibility in housing people who may need a separate room for a number of reasons. Additionally, VOA, the group that will run the shelter, employs a progression approach for individuals who have been at the shelter for an extended period and are transitioning to permanent supportive housing.

The layout and construction start date are contingent on project funds, with a large portion coming from the state’s Homeless Housing and Assistance Program (HHAP).  The county will apply for the HHAP funding in the summer, and awards are expected to be announced in October. McCullough says there are options if the application is not successful. 

Should the project successfully receive the HHAP funding later this year, the site would house Code Blue operations for two more winters before breaking ground in 2028.

The Cherry Street site, which the county purchased in late 2024 for $1.1 million, debuted as a Code Blue shelter this winter with VOA running operations. By law, the cold weather shelter is only required to open on nights that dip below freezing, but Tompkins County went beyond the legal mandate.

The expanded services this year, which included daytime and non-freezing hours, case management, food, secure on-site bathrooms with showers, and transportation on a limited basis, serve as a precursor to what the permanent shelter could be.

“We’re working very hard to ensure the development will have a positive impact,” McCullough tells 607NewsNow.

The building, which will be stepped up several feet in elevation due to its location near the Cayuga Lake inlet, would be fully ADA compliant.

You can watch the full presentation at the March 12 Health and Human Services Committee Meeting here.