Office gather for a photo on Feb. 20, 2026 outside Todi’s Place of Hope as they cut the ribbon on the new supportive short term housing facility at 1107 E. Main St. in Lansdale. (Photo courtesy Montgomery County PA)
The short term housing facility at 1107 E. Main Street is slated to open Monday
For people experiencing homelessness across the North Penn region, government and nonprofit advocates hope the new Todi’s Place of Hope offers just that: Hope.
Montgomery County officials cut the ribbon on the new supportive short term housing facility at 1107 E. Main Street in Lansdale on a rainy Friday afternoon, marking a significant step in addressing the local homelessness crisis with the first brick-and-mortar space in nearly four years. It’s slated to open Monday
“This building is what happens when a municipality and a county say together that all of our neighbors deserve dignity and stability,” said Lansdale Borough Council President Meg Currie Teoh.
“It’s a reminder that dignity begins with stability and opportunity. It begins with an open door,” said Montgomery County Commissioners’ Chairwoman Jamila Winder.
Adults ages 18 years and older who are referred to space will reside there for an average 60-to-90 days. Along with single and double occupancy rooms, bathrooms, showers, laundry, and a community space, residents can receive additional services, including food, mental and behavioral health services, employment training, gaining access to benefits, and veterans services.
Accessibility to nearby social service agencies is key for facility residents and partnering nonprofits as officials have noted that Manna on Main Street and women’s Code Blue shelter at the Wissahickon Park facility are both within walking distance. The facility will be operated by the Philadelphia based-Resources for Human Development, which also operated the Coordinated Homeless Outreach Center, known as CHOC, that closed in 2022.
“This just shows that it really takes a village. It takes people providing every service, having that attention to serve those who need it most. It’s happening here in Lansdale,” county Commissioners’ Vice Chairman Neil Makhija said.
Makhija said Todi’s Place of Hope will provide a place of respite for residents, to give them a “chance to think beyond their day-to-day survival,” and “plan for their future and the future of their families.”
Response to a need
The need for the 20-bed facility came amid an uptick in people experiencing homelessness in Lansdale. Makhija estimated the unhoused population at around 40 people.
Currie Teoh previously recalled observing an increase in “unsheltered individuals,” but said the borough did not have the resources or capacity to undertake a facility such as this.
Currie Teoh said the local and county leaders shared the “same vision” in making space for this “critically necessary recourse,” and said county commissioners “were all in on making that reality with us.”
County officials praised the partnership with governing partners in Lansdale when the opportunity to pursue a development presented itself.
“This new facility represents what can happen when we have support and action at the municipal level,” Winder said.
In December 2024, county commissioners allocated $1.3 million for operational costs and $1.3 million for construction of a short-term transitional housing facility, signing a 10-year lease agreement for the 4,800-square-foot space with Lansdale-based Liberty Bell Realty Co. Work on the supportive housing project broke ground back in March 2025.
Rates of homelessness have been on the rise in a county without a major operational shelter since the closure of CHOC in Norristown in June 2022.
There were 357 individuals reported experiencing homelessness in 2023, 435 people in 2024 and 534 people found this year during the Point-in-Time Count, according to figures from the Norristown Hospitality Center.
Participants conducted the 2026 count in late January, however, figures are not yet available.
Investment across the county
Montgomery County previously signaled intentions to invest in infrastructure solutions after earmarking $10 million in the 2025-29 capital improvement program fund for a homeless shelter, with an infusion of federal COVID-19 relief dollars furthering these initiatives.
Officials also expressed intentions to take a regional approach to tackling the homelessness crisis in Montgomery County. In addition to executing a lease for up to 120 beds at a Pottstown hotel, which is expected to be phased out once the Pottstown Beacon of Hope opens, county officials received zoning relief for a 50-bed facility in Norristown, which is expected to break ground next month, Winder said.
Beacon of Hope, operated by a Pottstown nonprofit, is building a 45-bed transitional shelter currently under construction within Pottstown to serve the western part of the county.
‘Place of Hope’
Makhija also took a moment to honor the project’s namesake, Nand Todi, of Penn Manufacturing Industries and the Gwynedd Valley-based nonprofit the TODI Foundation. The philanthropist and local businessman donated $1 million toward the Lansdale facility.
Makhija added that he expects the Todi family’s “leadership” will “set an example and a model for many, many other leaders in the county” as efforts to tackle the joint housing and homelessness crises continue.
“It is my honor to stand here today at the opening ceremony of the short term supportive housing project in Lansdale,” Todi said, adding “Todi’s Place of Hope is more than just a short term shelter.”
“We are not just treating the symptoms of homelessness,” he said, as advocates will provide case management services and mental health support to those in need.
“This shows what is possible when the public sector and private philanthropy unite together on the greater good of the community,” he said, adding “we believe that in life sometimes people fall on hard times, but no one should have to stay there forever.”
Todi also had a message for the facility’s soon-to-be residents: “Please know your community sees you, we value you and we are rooting for your success.”
