Former Silver Lake fire station to be used as temporary day center for homeless

Rochester’s day center for individuals experiencing homelessness is on the move again, after the Rochester City Council approved a plan Monday that will move the center to the former Silver Lake fire station by the first week of November.

$400,000 in CARES Act funding will be allocated to renovating and operating the space, which is intended to help keep the space afloat for six months. The Landing MN will hold the task of operating the space — which has been largely vacant since 2015 — from now until May 1, 2021.

The fire station will become the third location for the day center since its creation in March. Originally, the day center was located inside Mayo Civic Center’s Exhibition Hall, in lieu of other community organizations that were forced to close due to Covid-19. 

As events slowly returned to the Civic Center, however, space became harder to come by, forcing the city to move the center to the Salvation Army building in August. The city now finds itself at another crossroads, with the agreement with the Salvation Army expiring October 31.

Audrey Betcher, director of the Rochester Public Library and a lead coordinator in the day center’s operation, said that the day center has hosted around 70 people per day in recent weeks. Betcher said the Salvation Army space was already having to turn people away thanks to Covid-related capacity restrictions — and with winter on the way, a larger space would be essential.

“Because of Covid, the Salvation Army can only handle 30 people [at a time],” said Betcher. “Because it’s been warm, people tend to come and go and are willing to be outside, but as the weather gets colder, we would be putting more than half of those people on the street. That’s why capacity is such a huge issue.”

While the council passed the motion 6-1 (council member Palmer the lone nay), the majority of the body wanted to underscore the fact that the move will be temporary, with the city removing itself from the situation at the end of the pandemic. (Council Member Wojcik likened the move to a Band-Aid — a sentiment that others echoed.)

Councilor Nick Campion voted for the measure, but said any city involvement should be contained to short-term measures. Once the pandemic abates, he said, other organizations — including Olmsted County — should take the lead in creating a permanent day center.

“A long-term solution will take more partners,” said Campion. “I see the city’s long-term role as a participant, and I think that there’s clearly organizations that have a leadership role to play here. I think how we move forward is critical — the city’s willing to step up now, and I’m supportive of that, but I do not see this as being a sustainable part of city government.”

Documents in the council’s agenda packet say the new day center should be operational by November 5. 

Isaac Jahns is a Rochester native and a 2019 graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism. He reports on politics, business and music for Med City Beat.