A four-story, 34-year old Bronx homeless shelter in Mount Eden is relocating less than a mile away to a newer, but downsized building. The shelter, currently operated by HELP USA, is due to open in 2026, according to HELP USA’s Chief Strategy Officer Stephen Mott.
HELP Bronx Morris Avenue, which has an operating capacity of 212 families, is deemed too “old” for operation and underuses the current site. Its Highbridge successor has always existed as a backup for what Mott deems “replacement capacity.”
The newer, downsized version is expected to house a maximum of 194 families.
“The goal was always to keep this capacity in the same community district and to slightly reduce it so that the load would be slightly less on that community district,” said Mott.
Community District 4, home to the Mount Eden, Highbridge, West Concourse, East Concourse, Morrisania and Concourse Village neighborhoods, is grappling with a growing homeless population. The enclave has seen a 31% rise in the number of homeless people over the last year, according to CD4’s Statements of Community Needs for Fiscal Year 2025.
There is no guarantee, however, that the people who are currently housed at the Morris Avenue shelter will be able to move to the new location, Mott said.
“What I can’t say 100 percent is that every family from Morris would move over to the [new] shelter because that’s just not the way the system works,” he said.
The new location, 1298 Inwood Avenue, is currently home to a 2-story parking garage. The new shelter is being designed by an interdisciplinary team made up of architects, social workers, child psychologists, and safety professionals.
The shelter will continue to be managed by HELP, and will be located in a more commercial area– unlike its Morris Avenue branch, currently sandwiched between educational institutions and Claremont Park.
There are plans to develop the site of the old shelter into low-income housing.
“It is a huge site, and that means that real estate is going to come in,” said 77th Assembly Member Landon Dais at CD4’s General Board meeting last month.
“The one thing that I really pressed on was one: an option for home ownership. Two: affordable housing for the workforce for our healthcare workers, our police officers, our teachers, our civil workers.”
HELP USA’s Morris site can potentially be developed into 350 to 800 units of permanent, affordable housing, Mott said.
The real median gross rent rate in the Highbridge/ Concourse area has been steadily increasing since 2006, reaching a peak in 2022 of $1,510, according to the New York University’s Furman Center. That figure exceeds the wider Bronx area by $150.
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