As the Orlando City Council prepares to greenlight a new homeless shelter in the SODO district potentially, tensions swell among residents. The proposed site, a portion of the Orange County Work Release Center on Kaley Avenue, is part of a larger deal that involves annexing a 6,200-acre parcel for the "Sunbridge" project, according to WFTV. Despite the approval from Orange County officials, some community members are planning to vehemently oppose the 300-bed shelter at today’s city council meeting, citing safety concerns and a lack of consultation with residents.
While Orange County has already nodded to the plan, opposition stems deep in the community. People residing in the SODO area have expressed their intent to oppose and attend the council meeting to voice their concerns actively. A prior proposal for a similar shelter was rejected in District 5 after facing community pushback. This has laid a tense groundwork for the upcoming meeting at 2 pm.
Under the terms of the agreement, Orlando will lease the building for a mere $1 per year for seven years, taking on the burden of any necessary upgrades and ongoing maintenance costs. Yet, this economic detail does little to quell the unease of the locals. Kyle Steele, a homeowner in the SoDo neighborhood, said in a statement reported by ClickOrlando, "This is our home, this is our investment. This is the community we chose to live in. We liked all the redevelopment that was going on."
Steele's concerns echo a larger sentiment in the community regarding the potential impacts on safety and property value, with problems stemming from existing encounters with homelessness already proving to be a challenge. "We already experience that in many ways," Steele said, per ClickOrlando. "At 7-Eleven, we have a homeless population struggling from mental health and drug addiction. Packages all the time get lifted." His neighbor, Beth Coffey, is set to submit a letter of opposition, questioning whether the shelter will effectively address the larger issue of Orlando's homelessness and the lack of affordable housing that underpins it.
