The expected arrival of migrants to the former UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center has been pushed back yet again.

Lowell City Manager Tom Golden confirmed the information to InsideLowell when contacted Sunday evening, though he would not go into detail about the reasons why. Golden simply stated that when the families do begin arriving, they will do so in groups of 5-10 at a time and that Lowell Police have been working closely with Commonwealth Care Alliance (CCA), the vendor tasked with providing services at the facility.

That information closely echoes what we recently reported the Manager told City Councilors when December 18th was targeted as the new move in date, after the original plan of December 1st could not be met.

At the time, Golden notified City Councilors the original delay was because CCA “was not yet ready” to begin providing services. Whether that is still the case remains a mystery, but it should be noted that there was visible activity in the area earlier this week, as the Manager had indicated was the expectation.

A quick visit to the facility midday Wednesday revealed the exterior signage was removed from the building, leaving little trace to the outside world of the its connection to the University.

The process of using the facility as an emergency shelter has exhibited little of the urgency normally associated with traditional definitions of the word “emergency.”

A State of Emergency surrounding the migrant crisis was declared August 8th and the building was basically emptied for that purpose since the end of September while negotiations played out. An agreement between the state and the university was announced November 13th.

More than a month later, the waiting list for families in need of housing continues to grow and the former ICC continues to sit vacant.