The City of Orlando announced plans to spend $7.5 million to open a new homeless shelter.
The funds are part of the Accelerate Orlando program, started in 2022, which leverages about $58 million of the American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, federal funding the city received post-pandemic. The city has said the money will be used as a “once-in-a-generation investment in homelessness, affordable housing, and community improvement.”
The city proposed a lease-to-own agreement on an air-conditioned, 21,000-square-foot facility on Washington Street in West Orlando. The currently unused site will be built up as a low-barrier shelter, meaning that requirements for entry will be minimal and easy to meet. In other words, clients would not to have identification and pets would be allowed.
The facility would be open 24/7 and accommodate up to 250 people. Inside, clients will have access to some social services, such as employment assistance, healthcare and counseling.
District 5 Interim City Commissioner Shan Rose said the proposal comes as a direct response to the upcoming state law taking effect on Oct. 1, banning homeless encampments and sleeping in public spaces. The new law will hold municipalities responsible for people camping or sleeping in unsanitary, undesignated spaces or that could affect nearby businesses and people. It’s supported by a recent ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court which states that municipalities can now punish people for sleeping outdoors or in their cars, even when they have nowhere else to go.
Rose said the proposal has been met with mixed reactions, so far. Particularly, she said, some residents have told her they’re upset to see yet another homeless service center in District 5.
“District 5 is the dumping ground — those are the quotes from an email that I received, that District 5 no longer wants to be the dumping ground. I think we've got to find a happy medium balance,” she said. “We've got 13 municipalities here in Orange County. I think that everyone needs to collectively come up with how they will assist through this process.”
There are currently no shelters on the east side of Orlando and only one drop-in center for people experiencing homelessness, the Samaritan Resource Center on East Colonial.
“So, I think the underlying issue from the residents and the businesses is that we continue to spend, we continue to invest millions of dollars in the region, and yet we can't seem to find another location outside of district five to address homelessness,” Rose said.
Something else residents take issue with, according to Rose, is that they’re not confident the city’s plan is very well thought out.
“I think that's the bigger concern from the residents (...) Let me just say this, it came very swiftly,” Rose said. “It wasn't like this location was being looked at for the last six months. This particular option came across really quickly, really swiftly after negotiating.”
The city of Orlando said in a statement the plan is to reduce homelessness by 50%. Other Accelerate Orlando initiatives include: investing in the Christian Service Center, Salvation Army, Coalition for the Homeless, and other drop-in centers; also, plans to invest in more affordable housing, such as converting the blighted Ambassador Hotel on Colonial Drive into 150 living units at the Palm Gardens Orlando Apartments, which opened in May, and developing up to 80 apartments for mixed-income affordable housing on Jefferson Street.
The city said in the same statement they have also expanded down payment support, housing counseling, and access to housing repairs for low-income residents.
The building is currently in a public and recreationally-zoned area. Orlando's City Council will meet Monday and propose an ordinance to rezone it for industrial land use.
Lillian Hernández Caraballo is a Report for America corps member.
