As anxious New Toronto residents await public hearings into a proposed homeless shelter, City officials say costs have doubled and they may have to invest in thousands of affordable housing units.

The City of Toronto says the costs for each shelter bed they operate has doubled due to COVID-19 and they may have to invest in thousands of new housing units.

In a draft report developed by the Shelter, Support and Housing Administration (SSHA) and the United Way, City officials have put forward a number of potential strategies to get people off the street and keep them housed.

One of the main ideas in the report is for the City to lease and purchase old buildings and office spaces to be converted into permanent housing.

But, Mayor John Tory on September 15 called on the federal and provincial governments to contribute millions of dollars to an ambitious plan to develop 3,000 new affordable rental homes over the next 24 months.

“In the present circumstances with health-related considerations taken into account, (it is) more cost effective to build and acquire supportive housing than it is to build and operate more shelters,” Tory said.

The cost of operating a shelter bed before the pandemic was about $3,000 monthly but Tory said that number has increased to about $6,000 due to the need to reduce the capacity in shelter facilities, which the City has done through the relocation of thousands of clients to hotels and other temporary facilities.

He said the city can provide permanent affordable housing and supportive housing at a cost of just $2,000 per month with help from both levels of governments.

Under the proposal, the city would provide $228.5 million to build the modular homes “through capital and operating funding as well as land value” and the other levels of government would contribute an additional $200 million.

Other proposals include the transformation of existing emergency shelter spaces into permanent housing units; the rapid construction of modular housing; and the creation of a more robust network of harm reduction and addiction resources.

Many residents and businesses in New Toronto have been up in arms about a proposal to open a homeless shelter at Lakeshore Blvd. W., and Eighth Street, which will have rooms equipped for COVID patients.

They claim a shelter will lead to an increase in crime and other problems in the area.

A public hearing has been ordered to take place before a vote by City Council on September 30. No date is  set for a public meeting.