Florida Construction News staff writer
The Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida has broken ground on a six-storey, 105,000-square-foot centre for women and families experiencing homelessness in Orlando’s Parramore neighbourhood.
The Morgan & Morgan Center for Women and Families, part of the Coalition’s Foundations Project, will replace an aging facility on the organization’s downtown campus and expand its capacity to provide emergency shelter, transitional housing and support services.
The new facility will include 112 additional short-term residential beds, 76 bridge-housing beds, an on-site health clinic, expanded meal services, childcare and youth programs. The clinic is planned to provide access to medical, dental and mental-health services.
The centre will also include a modern kitchen and dining facility designed to support the Coalition’s meal program, which aims to provide approximately 337,000 meals annually.
The Foundations Project includes a separate Pathways Administration Center. Relocating administrative functions away from client housing is intended to free up space and resources for women, children and families accessing services.
The two-building initiative is expected to increase the Coalition’s service capacity by 40 to 50 per cent, from about 800 to 1,160 people daily.
Funding for the new centre includes a $10-million investment from the City of Orlando through its Accelerate Orlando initiative, $19.5 million from Orange County through federal community development, disaster recovery and emergency solutions grant programs, and $3 million in federal Community Project Funding secured by Congressman Maxwell Alejandro Frost. Additional support has come from community partners, including law firm Morgan & Morgan, which provided a financial commitment that led to the facility being named in its honour. The amount of the firm’s contribution has not been disclosed.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings, District 5 City Commissioner Shan Rose, District 6 City Commissioner Michael “Mike” Scott and Frost joined Coalition representatives for the Oct. 28 groundbreaking ceremony.
The Coalition said the project is intended to bring housing, health care and supportive services together in a purpose-built environment, helping women and families move from emergency shelter toward stable housing.
