Montgomery County signs lease on Pottstown hotel rooms for homeless

by rachel ravina

NORRISTOWN – Efforts to address homelessness progressed Thursday as the Montgomery County Commissioners unanimously agreed to lease more than 60 hotel rooms in Pottstown.

“These rooms will provide a safe, warm place for residents experiencing homelessness to seek shelter – starting with those residing on the properties of Norfolk Southern and the Borough of Pottstown,” Montgomery County Commissioners’ Vice Chairwoman Jamila Winder said.

How Montgomery County is addressing homelessness: Signing building lease in Lansdale

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The six-month lease agreement with JSK Pottstown, LLC, procured at least 62 rooms at the Days Inn at 61 W. King St. Rent was set at “$60 per room per night,” according to the resolution detailing the “new year-round, short-term supportive housing facility in Pottstown.”

“The program is proposed to begin operating upon conditional zoning approval and ending upon opening of a permanent shelter located in the Pottstown region,” said Dr. Tamra Williams, Montgomery County’s deputy chief operating officer and health and human services department director.

In addition to the established lease agreement, county commissioners also authorized a contract with the Reading-based Opportunity House. The $1.5 million agreement secured “emergency housing operations and support services” to people occupying hotel rooms. The contract was funded by grants and the Berks County nonprofit was the sole respondent to a previously issued request for proposals.

“I’m deeply thankful to the Borough of Pottstown for stepping up,” Winder said. “I know that you have often felt alone in this effort, and I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your leadership in doing what’s right to help some of our most vulnerable residents.

Elected officials at the local, county and state levels applauded the initiative slated to alleviate long-time burdens felt by the western Montgomery County borough. While homelessness is evident countywide, areas of Pottstown and Norristown have often seen larger concentrations of unhoused populations. Advocates estimated around 120 people are currently experiencing homelessness in the Pottstown area.

“I know what you did took a lot of coordination, a lot of time, and a lot of hard work and we appreciate that so very much because you heard us. We came to you with an issue, with a challenge, and you stepped up to the plate, and you hit it out of the park,” said Pottstown Borough Councilman Andrew Monastra.

Pottstown Borough Manager Justin Keller agreed.

“They really took a hands-on approach with this, and that kind of involvement isn’t always what we’ve seen from the county in the past. So it was refreshing to see that,” Keller said. “It was refreshing to see how fast this solution got implemented.”

Planning stages took roughly a couple of months, according to Commissioner Tom DiBello, who was involved in the venture’s lease negotiations.

“I know we talked about going in and starting with 62 rooms, and we’re in a position that there’s almost 100 rooms there, and if we have to eventually take over the remaining rooms, we will, but I think we’re in a really good spot and I think this is a very positive for Pottstown,” he said.

Homelessness in Montco. notes history with Pottstown

The need for temporary housing remains 2.5 years after the Coordinated Homeless Outreach Center closed. The facility, previously operated by the Philadelphia-based Resources for Human Development, served as the county’s main homeless shelter for single adults.

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Officials and advocates have seen rising rates of homelessness in the state’s second wealthiest county in recent years. The county conducted its annual Point-in-Time Count earlier this week. While findings from the federally mandated initiative designed to get a glimpse into the local homelessness situation on a given night have not yet been released, 568 individuals reported experiencing homelessness on a cold night in 2022, 357 people in 2023 and 435 people in 2024.

“I want to emphasize that the primary purpose of this program is to provide temporary shelter and supportive services with the ultimate goal of connecting people to a permanent housing situation without returning to homelessness,” Williams said. “While this will achieve a short-term goal of providing a place for people to live temporarily, the long-term solution will require attainable, permanent housing and ongoing fully funding health and human services for this population.”

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This latest hoteling solution comes at a time when officials have expressed intentions of clearing encampments on public and private land. The saga involving an encampment situated on a stretch of Pottstown-owned land just beyond the Schuylkill River Trail reached federal court last year after borough officials posted signs instructing people residing on the land they’d have to leave. Legal advocates had cited a lack of viable shelter alternatives in last year’s litigation. A judge eventually ruled the borough could move forward with sweeping the encampment, but could not pursue punitive actions to do so.

The “College Drive” and long-standing “Tent City” encampments have since been vacated.

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“We’re really happy for this partnership and it comes at a time of need for the borough,” Keller said. “We have a permanent shelter that is approved, a 45-bed, but that’s still some time out. They’re progressing well with the land development process, and we needed something to bridge the gap in the interim.”

Site for Pottstown homeless shelter finally secured

Advocates looking to solve homelessness in the Pottstown area have been confronted with challenges of their own as Pottstown Beacon of Hope worked to secure temporary and permanent shelter solutions.

The organization was able to move forward on a 2.3-acre site with a $270,000 purchase price finalized in July 2024. The approval process continues as Pottstown Beacon of Hope expects to break ground in April, according to Pottstown Beacon of Hope Board President Mark Boorse, with an anticipated opening date of late fall or winter 2025.

The Beacon of Hope shelter plan, which already has zoning approval, is now in the final stages of getting site plan approval. The project was before the planning commission on Jan. 15 and a recommendation for final approval is expected at the Feb. 19 planning commission meeting. Final approval would then be required from Pottstown Borough Council, which could be discussed at the March 5 work session.

“We appreciate that the county listened to the borough’s concerns and really tailored a solution that was fit for us, and good for our residents,” Keller said. “We’re ready and willing to provide with whatever further assistance we can offer, and we look forward to continuing to work together with the county as we go through the zoning approval process.”

Pottstown housing solution follows Lansdale shelter

Thursday’s development comes just a month after another Montgomery County real estate acquisition to lease a building in Lansdale to further the supportive short-term housing concept.

The facility will have the capacity to house and provide resources to up to 20 people at a given time. Montgomery County previously signaled intentions to invest in infrastructure solutions after earmarking $10 million in the 2025-29 capital improvement program fund over the next five years for a homeless shelter.

How Montgomery County is addressing homelessness: Signing building lease in Lansdale

A previously issued request for proposal requested services at “up to three potential sites” in Montgomery County. While Winder couldn’t share specifics associated with the plan, she disclosed in a December interview ahead of the Lansdale announcement that officials have had conversations with municipal representatives in Norristown, Pottstown and West Norriton Township.

“There’s another one coming hopefully this year. It’s somewhere else. I’m not going to say where yet, but we’re already moving and looking at another one somewhere else,” DiBello said on Thursday.

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