The City of Orlando will not be moving forward with plans to open a 300-bed, 24/7 homeless shelter in the South Downtown area, commonly known as the SoDo District.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer announced the decision in an email Monday. It comes on heels of the organized efforts of a group of neighborhood residents who put pressure on local government officials -- speaking out at city meetings, emailing council members, and talking to the press -- in opposition to the so-called “mega shelter.”
The city has ramped up its search for shelter space in the last couple of years, particularly since Florida’s camping ban kicked in. While residents protesting shelter proposals has become a hurdle for the city, in his statement, Dyer did not specify why the plans were cancelled.
“Unfortunately, we have determined that this location is not feasible,” he said.
Why Kaley Street?
The city was looking at a now-vacant building on Kaley Street that used to be the old Orange County Work Release Center. The correctional facility held about 300 inmates who were transitioning back into society through a work-release program.
The layout of the facility already has many of the features the state law requires for public shelter space and would otherwise come at a cost to the city to build from scratch. These include sleeping space, plumbing and electricity, office space for staff and administration, bathrooms, kitchen and dining areas, indoor-outdoor recreational spaces, and more.
The idea was officially established last year in what Orange County and Orlando called an “interlocal agreement.” The document is broad, pausing Orlando’s plans for annexation of ranch land, addressing the use of Tourist Development Tax Dollars for renovations to city-owned venues, and laying out how the city and county will split expenses to fix and run the shelter.
The project would have provided emergency shelter to hundreds of unhoused people, available at all times and with very low restrictions for entry and access to resources. But many people were against the idea from its inception. A petition online with thousands of signatures cites concerns of potential property damage, rise in crime, and dangers to children and schools.
SoDo said ‘No’
According to fourth-generation resident James Krawczyk, who spearheaded the resistance against the shelter, the city left his community entirely out of the conversation.
“This is not good governance. This is not how decisions like this should be made,” he said.
Krawczyk said the SoDo residents deny and resent the term “NIMBY” with which some have dubbed them. It stands for “not in my backyard” and refers to people who just don’t want unhoused people in their neighborhoods.
He said their community has long worked with the city, providing space for development and improvements to the area, and would have gladly worked with the city for shelter solutions. Another main concern, Krawczyk said, was that the city was not actually addressing the issue of homelessness -- instead just keeping them out of sight and disregarding the true needs of unhoused people.
“Was the plan to just export the homeless from downtown to SoDo to make downtown more appealing to our tourists at the expense of a historic neighborhood and thriving businesses?” he asked. “I was just kind of shocked that they were kind of having it both ways, as far as painting us to be the heartless NIMBY folks that don't want it in their backyard, but also, your best plan is basically to put them in a box where you expect them to stay 24/7. Like, you're describing a prison.”
Ultimately, Krawczyk said, the whole ordeal has eroded their public trust and relationship with the city, and they must now remain vigilant.
“That opened our eyes to the idea that you have to really, unfortunately, pay attention because this, apparently, is how a lot of these big decisions get made. And if you're not paying attention, this stuff will just happen,” he said.
In the email statement, Dyer said he remains committed to finding a solution, but Orlando residents must face the issue of homelessness with openness to offer shelter to their communities’ “most vulnerable” people.
“We can’t give up. Homelessness can’t just be someone else’s problem. It’s not a challenge we can simply push away out of fear. We must address it and offer support to the unsheltered, together,” Dyer said.
Lillian Hernández Caraballo is a Report for America corps member.
