If the State Fire Marshal's Office deems the building safe, the idea of turning the former Delaware State Police Troop 7 on Route 1 into a temporary homeless shelter could become reality.

According to Sen. Ernie Lopez, R-Lewes, with a positive finding, the process to obtain the building on a temporary basis could be finalized by mid-January.

“If you had asked me three weeks ago about this state-owned building being a shelter, the answer would have been no,” he said during a Jan. 4 meeting at the Lewes library to update the community on progress made to provide shelter for homeless in the area.

“Now, we are about 70 percent there; some huge steps have been made. The next 10 days are extremely critical in this conversation,” he said.

Lopez said he and Speaker of the House Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach, worked over the holiday with state officials involved with state buildings and surplus. “It's normally a process that takes months, and the state has never done anything like this before,” he said.

He said the building will not be officially vacant until Friday, Jan. 10.

Lopez said their persistence and passion paid off, and state officials agreed to their proposal when they were able to get Code Purple Sussex County as the agency to coordinate the shelter's operation if it gets up and running. “It was important to get their backing,” he said.

Code Purple Sussex County operates eight cold-weather shelters from Dec. 1 through March 15, but not one serving the Cape Region. The closest shelters are in Georgetown and Bethany Beach.

The action must also be approved by the five-member state surplus committee of which Schwartzkopf is a member.

Lopez said in addition, some insurance and liability issues must be worked out, and a lease agreement/memorandum of understanding must be signed with Code Purple, which is operated by Love Inc. of Mid-Delmarva.

“We are in the slow lane. It’s not coming together as quickly as you would like, but we will solve this,” he said. “We are in the right direction and will not stop.”

He said if all the pieces come together, he and Schwartzkopf will then call on the community for support to turn the building into a temporary shelter.

“We know we have the volunteers to make it happen. We are in uncharted territory as far as the state is concerned, but we are faithful and optimistic we will get there,” he said. In early December, Immanuel Shelter officials announced for the first time in a decade there would not be a Code Purple shelter in the Cape Region.

Board member Don Peterson said when the announcement was made, there was an outpouring of support from area churches, but without a building to use as a shelter, there was little that could be done. Peterson said the homeless community continues to do what it always has done to try to survive – sleeping in tents, cars or wherever they can find a place to hide.

“For 10 years, the people of Immanuel have done the heavy lifting,” Lopez said. “When we realized there was not going to be an ecumenical solution, we put the wheels in motion.”

Lopez said more discussion is needed to ensure that shelter for the homeless does not reach a critical point again. “We need another large-scale conversation with Code Purple. Pete and I will take the lead on this conversation. We need to work toward a permanent solution,” he said.