ST. LOUIS • City officials are planning a permanent 24-hour homeless facility just north of downtown in an effort to address an “impending crisis in emergency homeless services.”

The facility, called “Biddle House,” will be located in an old market building at North Tucker Boulevard and Biddle Street. It will operate as a daytime service center and as an overnight emergency shelter.

“The idea is to get them off of the street and connect them with services,” said Eddie Roth, the city’s director of Human Services.

The facility, expected to open in July, will have 98 permanent beds for single men and will also be able to serve between 75 and 125 men and women during the day.

Roth said the initiative will adhere to federal housing priorities designed to get homeless people off the streets and rapidly rehouse them. It will have a kitchen and a large, fenced outdoor area where residents can smoke.

Residents will be given mental health services and other assessment tools. Roth said the aim is to connect residents with services.