A two-star hotel in Scarborough may soon be converted to a homeless shelter for some of the city’s most vulnerable men.

The city of Toronto is buying the hotel on the Kingston Rd. motel strip as part of its five-year plan to open as many as 15 new temporary and permanent hostels to ease overcrowding, replace shelters closing due to redevelopment and expand service to the inner suburbs.

If approved by council, the Comfort Inn East on Kingston Rd. near Bellamy Rd., would be renovated to serve about 120 homeless seniors, including 60 men from the nearby Birchmount Residence, said area Councillor Gary Crawford.

The Birchmount Residence, a former nursing home which the city has been leasing since 1999 as a homeless shelter for men over age 55, is in poor condition and no longer suitable, he said. A newly renovated, city-owned shelter would provide more privacy and better living conditions for the men who are referred from the city’s downtown Seaton House shelter, he added.

“The Birch Cliff community has always been very supportive of the residence,” Crawford said in an interview. “I am hoping the new neighbours will be equally welcoming.”

The Comfort Inn is about 6 km east of the Birchmount Residence and the men would receive the same nursing, counseling and mental health services at the new location.

As part of the deal, the city is also negotiating to buy and demolish the troubled East Side Motel next door to the Comfort Inn. Removing the motel, which Crawford said has “long been a source of contention,” would be a significant improvement to the area.

“Having something like a daycare or parkland in place of this motel would be a welcome change that would better serve this community,” he said.

A staff report with more details on the proposed purchase will be released later this month for debate by the city’s executive committee on Dec. 1.

In addition to replacing the Birchmount Residence, extra beds in the new shelter would help the city in its quest to keep shelter occupancy rates below 90 per cent, said a spokesperson for the city’s shelter, support and housing services. The 4,476-bed system is currently operating at more than 93 per cent capacity.

The city already uses motels along Kingston Rd. in Scarborough to house homeless families and individuals on a temporary basis when shelters are full. But this is believed to be the first time the city has bought a hotel in the area for that purpose.

City council this week adopted a motion by downtown Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam calling on city staff to work with Seaton House residents and service agencies to ensure shelter beds remain available to vulnerable men while the aging 634-bed facility is redeveloped over the coming years.

The motion was a response to a request by 18 community organizations and 113 health care providers who signed an open letter to the mayor and city councillors expressing concern that the project would result in fewer shelter beds downtown.

A public information meeting on the proposed new Kingston Rd. shelter will be held at the Scarborough Village Recreation Centre on Nov. 17 at 6:30 p.m.

Toronto’s shelter system

4,476: full-time beds;

59: homeless shelters;

16,000: individuals used the shelter system in 2014;

4: average number of individuals who use each shelter bed;

64: percentage of beds used by men;

35: percentage of beds used by women;

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69: percentage of beds used by adults;

19: percentage of beds used by youth aged 16 to 24;

19: percentage of beds used by children under 16.