Fredericton Mayor Mike O'Brien says he expects another emergency out-of-the-cold shelter to open in the New Brunswick capital next winter.

"The solution to chronic homelessness is homes or apartments and we're not there yet," O'Brien said.

"We have a vision to get there, the community has a vision to get there in the next two, three, four years."

He uses the example of Housing First Fredericton, a group trying to eliminate homelessness by building eight micro-houses.

According to a letter sent to the city on Monday, the Department of Social Development, plans to spend $53,000 for a new 20-bed emergency shelter in Fredericton. The letter from the minister, Dorothy Shephard, did not elaborate on how a shelter of that size could be created with $53,000.

The province will also provide 35 rent subsidies for individuals ready to transition into a more permanent home as well as $140,000 for wrap-around support services to ensure those individuals remain housed.

"It was a surprise because we didn't know exactly what the outcomes were," he said at the city council meeting Monday night.

The city doesn't run emergency shelters or deal with the finances, but O'Brien said he expects to hear from community groups in the next few weeks about upcoming plans for next year.

"Every shelter is a case-by-case basis," he said. "As the community starts to work towards that, we want to know as soon as possible, so we can advise them what the steps they'd have to go through for the proper zoning for a shelter."

Last fall, the out-of-the-cold shelter at the old bishop's house on Brunswick Street, delayed its opening because the property wasn't zoned properly.

The out-of-the-cold shelter on Brunswick Street gave roughly 20 people a place to stay at night since opening in December to support many of the city's homeless who were enduring frigid temperatures in tents.

The shelter closed May 1 after funding from the province and the city's zoning arrangement expired. The initial closing date was pushed back a month out of concern cold nights would continue through April.

About 100 people used the emergency shelter while it was open.

"It was a bit of a crisis obviously back in October, November last year and December," O'Brien said. "That forced people to get together and start working even more collaboratively."