Kaydenz Kitchen is looking to operate an emergency warming center this winter at the former Schemengees Bar & Grille Restaurant, seen Wednesday, at 551 Lincoln St. in Lewiston. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

LEWISTON — The former Schemengees Bar & Grille Restaurant on Lincoln Street is being eyed as the location of an emergency warming center this winter.

Kevin Boilard, executive director of the nonprofit Kaydenz Kitchen, which operated a warming center this past winter at the Calvary United Methodist Church at 59 Sabattus St. said the organization is hopeful to receive funding from MaineHousing to run a similar project between Nov. 15 and April 30, 2025.

He said after Calvary’s ownership recently changed hands, his group began looking at alternative locations, and likes the Schemengees site at 551 Lincoln St. If funding is secured next week, a one-year lease would be signed, he said.

On Tuesday, Kaydenz Kitchen was also selected by the City Council to operate Lewiston’s first permanent, low-barrier shelter, which looks to serve between 40-60 guests year-round. A low-barrier shelter does not deny entry for reasons such as being under the influence, participation in religious services, or a lack of identification.

Asked Wednesday, Boilard said the Schemengees location could be ideal for the permanent shelter, but that the decision will ultimately be up to city officials.

Boilard said planning for the emergency warming center has been in the works since last year, but he initially thought the timeline for the permanent shelter project was much further out. It wasn’t until MaineHousing announced emergency funding for shelters that the city pulled together a request for proposals ahead of a funding application deadline of Sept. 30.

“We like the location, that’s why we locked it in for the warming center,” he said, adding that he also believes it could work as a permanent shelter. “From our organization’s standpoint, we feel it could be an ideal location for that type of resource.”

Boilard, who also works as a homeless outreach coordinator in Auburn, interacts daily with homeless living in encampments across Lewiston and Auburn. He said Lincoln Street is a more central location for a shelter than one might realize, with encampments along Lincoln Street and as far out as the turnpike exit. His team also looked for locations outside the downtown business district and away from schools and neighborhoods.

“You kind of factor in those variables,” he said. “If we want to be part of the downtown revitalization process, instead of working against it, you keep it away from the business district. Outside, but still readily accessible.”

City staff Wednesday emphasized that although Kaydenz Kitchen will run both, the warming center and low-barrier shelter are two different projects. The uses also come with a different set of licensing requirements and rules at the local and state level. For instance, warming centers are not allowed to provide beds because they are not considered shelters.

According to Angelynne Amores, the city’s director of marketing and communications, Kaydenz Kitchen was also the only local agency to respond to a request for proposals this summer for operating a warming center. The proposal was for $119,868.

Amores said the process for a low-barrier, overnight shelter “is many steps,” but the big hurdles are funding, Planning Board review and then site plan approval. The committee tasked with establishing a permanent shelter hopes to have it up and running by September 2025.

The committee is scheduled to present to the City Council during a Sept. 17 workshop regarding recommendations relating to further amendments to the city’s shelter ordinance, including licensing language.

The elements that make a “low-barrier” shelter — not denying entry for reasons such as being under the influence, participation in religious services, or a lack of identification — are also likely to be debated.

The committee has estimated that developing the permanent shelter would cost roughly $1 million, with operating expenses at roughly $2 million annually, if at full capacity.

Numerous floral bouquets and tributes lie Oct. 30, 2023, in front of Schemengees Bar & Grille Restaurant at 551 Lincoln St. in Lewiston, a week after a mass shooting there. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Schemengees Bar & Grille Restaurant was one of the two locations targeted during the Oct. 25, 2023, mass shooting, after which it did not reopen.