Peter & Paul Community Services has purchased the former Little Sisters of the Poor St. Louis Residence in north St. Louis, and with that, it seeks to double its footprint for homeless services over the next few years.

The nonprofit organization closed on April 15 on the 188,000-square-foot building, 3225 North Florissant Ave. in the St. Louis Place neighborhood, for $3 million using city and state American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding. The purchase comes after more than two years of searching and a contentious debate about other proposed sites for a new facility.

Peter & Paul Community Services currently serves 116 people every night, and with the addition of the new building, the hope is to expand services to more than 300 people in the next several years. “The site will easily become the largest homeless services space in St. Louis as we expand to full capacity,” CEO Anthony D’Agostino said. “We’re thinking about this as an expansion rather than completely shifting our presence.”

The 4.5-acre site includes an eight-story tower, commercial kitchen and dining room, a 15-unit apartment building, a 26-room convent, a chapel, multiple secure parking lots and private green space. The Little Sisters of the Poor operated it as a residence for the elderly poor until 2018; the religious community withdrew from St. Louis due to aging and a decrease in sufficient vocations to effectively staff the residence.

D’Agostino described the building as an “all-in-one” space that has the capacity to expand on its transitional and permanent supportive housing programs, provide space for intake services and programming, and hopefully form partnerships with other nonprofit organizations in the community to provide needed services.

The agency seeks to raise about $13 million in the next few years, which D’Agostino said is “very doable considering the space and how many people we can actually serve here.” The organization recently received a $15,000 grant from the Annual Catholic Appeal via the Archbishop’s Charity Fund for essential repairs to the facility.

Peter & Paul Community Services was established in 1981 as an ecumenical effort involving Sts. Peter and Paul and St. Vincent de Paul parishes and Trinity Lutheran church. The group started with a winter shelter in the basement of Sts. Peter and Paul, and its programs today continue to be supported by Catholics and dozens of parishes.

“We were born in a church, and we continue to operate with that charism,” D’Agostino said. “It’s really exciting to bring our presence here.”

Other programs include transitional housing programs such as Positive Directions for men living with HIV/AIDS; the Benedict Joseph Labre Center to serve men and women living with mental illness; the Community CollabARTive art program; and Garfield Place Apartments, which provides permanent supportive housing for men and women who face chronic homelessness. All of those programs are located in south St. Louis.

The former Little Sisters of the Poor building has operated as a homeless shelter since 2020, an effort in conjunction with the City of St. Louis and several organizations. D’Agostino said they will work with the city to keep current residents while expanding services in the building.