Project Progress

Since the province announced funding for the permanent shelter in February 2020, there has been a lot of work done in the background on roles in the project, site selection process, service delivery, and ownership of site and building.

Where we're at

October 11, 2022

A new potential site is approved by City Council to formally recommend to the province, following a mutual understanding that the original site recommended would be unsuitable for the future shelter in Red Deer. The new site recommended is on privately owned land, and the land owner was made aware of the interest in the property. Due to the site being privately owned and land negotiations required, the location was not publicly released. 

City formally recommends site for future shelter in Red Deer

Timeline of Events

2020
February  The province committed $7 million towards the purpose-built integrated permanent shelter in Red Deer.
November  A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the province and The City was finalized, outlining high level responsibilities.
2021
November 15 City Council released their In Camera recommendation for a Housing-Focused Shelter service delivery model. This requests that operations focus on outcome-based, low-barrier, integrated service delivery using a housing-focused model that strives to end chronic homelessness. The Government of Alberta confirmed its support of this direction in a letter to The City dated January 6, 2022.
April 2021 – January 2022 Council held 13 closed meetings to determine an appropriate site and service model delivery recommendation.
2022
January 22 A potential location was released for the permanent shelter following administration conducting a search of potential sites with the support of a commercial realtor. Nearly 80 sites in Red Deer were explored during the process.
February 16-23 The City conducted several targeted community conversations to develop a better understanding of the community’s thoughts on the shelter, its location, and the process thus far, in advance of zoning requirements for the proposed location.
March 7 Administration and third-party engagement specialist presented the What We Heard report during the Special Council Meeting. Council gave administration direction to develop an engagement strategy to host additional community conversations about the permanent shelter in Red Deer.
April Council approved the previous reports, presentations, communications and recommendations held in closed meetings (In Camera) to be released publicly. As the final site has not been determined, there is certain information that has been redacted to protect the integrity of the In Camera process and economic interests if a non-City owned site is selected. The redactions throughout the report include site specific information, contractual obligations, legal advice and third-party business information. The full and summary report can be found below under Resources Related to Permanent Shelter Process.
May 9 Council directed administration to develop and implement a public participation strategy to gather community input on site criteria with a deadline to wrap up public participation by June 20, 2022. 
Council directed administration to prepare a very brief report to the community identifying the city‐owned parcel of land at 6910 Riverside Drive (immediately north of the 67 street overpass) as an additional potential site location for the permanent integrated shelter. Included in the report are the estimated timelines and costs associated with servicing the parcel. The report was released on May 31 and can be found below under Resources Related to Permanent Shelter Process.
May 25 - June 10 Online and in-person input opportunities were hosted to gather input on the previously used site criteria, additional criteria and other areas of the permanent shelter. A What We Heard report will be presented to Council at their regular meeting on June 20 that will include an analysis of the input collected, as well as full details from input gathered online, in person and by email/letter.
June 20 During their regular Council meeting, Council voted unanimously in favour of developing a site criteria evaluation matrix before July 4, 2022. Special Council meetings were set for June 24 at 9 a.m. and June 27 at 2:30 p.m. Also during the June 20 Council meeting, administration also presented What we heard: Analysis of May 25 to June 10 input opportunities (pdf) - an analysis and all raw input gathered from May 20 to June 13 about the site criteria and other permanent shelter areas.
June 27 - July 4 Between June 24 and July 4, Administration supported City Council through three facilitated meetings to build out a scoring matrix that will help assess future integrated shelter suitability. On July 4, 2022, City Council approved their scoring matrix and directed proceeding to next steps in the project. 
July 13 - August 5

Site Selection Process Phase 3: Technical Review & Assessment Phase

  • July 13 – 22: commercial realtor to conduct site search. Two meetings were held the week of July 11 to 15 with the commercial realtor. The first was with members of administration to provide information on the site selection process and the approved matrix. The second meeting was with Mayor Ken Johnston and Deputy Mayor Lee to provide further Council perspective.
  • July 20 - 27: call for privately owned sites 
  • July 22 – 25: initial technical assessment conducted by administration prior to site visits
  • July 25 – August 5: site visits and enhanced technical review of short-listed sites
August 15 - September 12

Site Selection Process Phase 4: City Council Review

  • August 15: City Council meeting: administrative recommendation of sites based on City Council’s policy direction through the development of its matrix.
  • August 15 - 26: Additional administrative technical review of additional sites 
  • August 29 - September 12: City Council review and evaluation using their site evaluation matrix approved on July 4, 2022.
September 12

Following an extensive site selection process that involved public, technical and Council input, Council selected and approved a potential site to recommend to the province.

Potential future shelter site selected by Council
September 27

Members of Council met with Provincial representatives to discuss potential site for future shelter in Red Deer. Additional information about the recommended site requested by the Province. Information provided over the following week.
October 11

A new potential site is approved by City Council to formally recommend to the province, following a mutual understanding that the original site recommended would be unsuitable for the future shelter in Red Deer. The new site recommended is on privately owned land, and the land owner was made aware of the interest in the property. Due to the site being privately owned and land negotiations required, the location was not publicly released. 

Resources related to permanent shelter process:

Additional resources: