The Lawrence Community Shelter announced Wednesday it would open a new facility in the former Don’s Steakhouse, 2176 E. 23rd St. The announcement comes after the Lawrence City Commission increased the legal number of people the shelter could hold legally overnight.

The shelter, which is currently located at 213 W. 10th St., announced on Wednesday that it had finalized its plans to construct the new shelter. When the shelter moves to the new location, it will be able to hold 100 people overnight.

Before Tuesday, the current shelter could hold only 31 people overnight, but the closure of The Salvation Army’s shelter on June 1 left it as the only shelter and more people sought a roof there. The Lawrence City Commission voted Tuesday to increase the allowable number to a maximum of 76 overnight occupants during the shelter’s busiest months, October through March, and up to 53 overnight occupants from April through September.

The Lawrence Community Shelter was formed in 2005 to help Lawrence’s homeless community but has been searching for a location for a new shelter for two years.

“So much of what we will do in the new shelter will be an enhancement of the services we already offer, but we will be able to do a lot more,” said Loring Henderson, director of the Lawrence Community Shelter.

Henderson said he was confident a new shelter could be completed in about a year if everything went as planned. The new space will allow the shelter to pursue plans for a medical clinic, an adjoining building for employment services and larger sleeping, dining and storage areas.

“A new emergency shelter location has been long overdue to Lawrence,” Henderson said in a press release.