Homeless shelter at Ebenezer church relocated after heating outage

The vacant former furniture store belongs to developer Ben Lesher’s company Parcel B. He is looking to build a six-story, 130-unit apartment building there, but nothing will start until at least next spring, and the building is available in the meantime.

“I’m happy to help out,” Lesher said.

Arrangements were made quickly. Food Hub, authority and city Public Works staff loaded the shelter’s mattresses, bed frames and other materials onto a pair of pickup trucks with flatbed trailers. Other items went into a Lancaster County Food Hub van.

By mid-afternoon, everything was being brought in and stacked at 232 N. Prince St. Supervisors were busily brainstorming a layout: Men’s dormitory on this side, women’s on that side, storage back here.

The building is fully sprinklered and all of its systems — plumbing, heating, lighting and so on — are fully operational and up to code. Moreover, it’s in the central business district, where temporary shelters are permitted by right.

In the next few days, Parcel B and the redevelopment authority will finalize and sign a temporary lease. The details, including the lease duration and financial arrangements, are still being worked out, Eby said.

‍