Attempting to get a firm direction relating to the growing homeless community, the City of Huntsville is taking a progressive approach to reopening the campsite on Derrick Street near downtown.

Scott Erwin, director of the city’s community development arm, led reporters on a tour of the soon-to-be-open, restructured site that was shut down by a damaging fire in 2024. The South Derrick Street Camp has undergone improvements to improve safety and security for the camp’s occupants.

The improvements address concerns raised by unsheltered individuals during listening sessions held by the City’s Community Development Department and Continuum of Care (CoC) providers.

“If you’ll remember back to last fall and the fire, the conditions of the camp as a result of the fire were extremely hazardous and unsanitary,’’ Erwin said. “So the city stepped in to figure out exactly what we can do.

“Over the past few months, the city has worked diligently to complete improvements to the safety and security for the camp’s occupants. And I wanna sincerely thank the Public Works Department for the City of Huntsville, Landscape Management, Parks and Recreation and HPD. It took a lot of different hands in my departments within the city to bring us to where we are today.’’

The new site has a privacy fence for increased security and a 12×12 outlined grid system that will represent 84 individual spaces to provide structured living areas. Each space is equipped with a 10×10 tent, which will be anchored to a platform to keep tenants’ belongings off the ground and provide the anchor for the tents. A new entryway was created for emergency vehicle access.

“Safety and security have consistently been the top two concerns that we identified by those living in the camp,’’ Erwin said.

Possible tenants must register in order to obtain housing in the camp. Community Development notified former occupants of the steps required to register for participation, which include the new community standards that must be signed by each individual. The new standards will help maintain order and ensure the camp remains a safe, secure, and sanitary and respectful place for everyone to temporarily live here.’’

Representatives from organizations that aid in getting unhoused citizens permanent living quarters joined Erwin at the press event. Among those speaking were representatives from First Stop, CoC, Family Services Center and Catholic Charities.

“Outreach is a core tenet of First Stop and our mission to support our unhoused neighbors, and with the support of the city and the progressive steps they have made to mitigate the environmental safety and health issues that existed at the camp we hope that our case managers will be able to be more involved and help our friends in need get out of homelessness and approach sustainable long-term housing with the support of the city.’’

Each tent will house either individuals or those with a significant other. Fences provide security, and the tents are anchored to the concrete platform below. An old tin building next to the camp will be repurposed so residents can access potable water while Shower Up, a mobile unit, will provide bathing and laundry services.

As for sanitation, portable potties are too mobile and a standing restroom facility might invite predatory or unseemly behavior. The city is still weighing options for the camp’s refuse.

“We’ll have an agency close by having a portable bathroom facility on site and we’ll see how that works,’’ Erwin said. “The water access will be very soon.’’

As Erwin stressed, the goal of the camp is to be a temporary solution.

“Our goal for everyone in the camp is this to be a pathway to allow them to get permanently housed,’’ Erwin said. “Today, we have some of our organizations that can lead to that, help them get permanent housing to have a stable way of life.’’