The Coalition for the Homeless broke ground on a new Parramore center for women and families: 112 more beds, a clinic and bridge housing, with $32.5M in public money.

The Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida broke ground Wednesday on a new Center for Women and Families at its downtown campus, the city announced. The building will add 112 short-term beds for women and families who have lost their homes.

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings and U.S. Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost were due to join the Coalition for the ceremony at 18 N. Terry Ave., the city said in its announcement of the groundbreaking. City Commissioner Shan Rose and County Commissioner Mike Scott were also listed. DeAngelis Diamond is the contractor.

What the new center will have

The building will cover more than 105,000 square feet, the city said. It will bring housing, health care and support services together under one roof. Plans include:

  • 112 more short-term residential beds
  • an on-site health clinic
  • expanded meal service
  • child care and youth programs
  • more than 20 bridge housing units with more than 75 beds

The new beds bring the total to 352, the Coalition said when it launched the project in May. The clinic will offer preventive, primary, mental health and dental care. A new kitchen and dining hall will let it prepare 30% more meals a year.

The bridge units are meant as a step between the shelter and a permanent home. Children make up about 40% of the people the Coalition serves each day, it said.

The city expects the center to expand the Coalition’s capacity by 40% to 50%.

Who is paying

Bar chart of public money for the new Center for Women and Families: Orange County $19.5 million, City of Orlando $10 million, federal Community Project Funding secured by Rep. Maxwell Frost $3 million.
Public money for the new center, as listed by the city. Chart by Orlando Local Today
Share this chartFacebookWhatsAppX

The public share comes to $32.5 million, according to the city’s announcement:

  • $19.5 million from Orange County, through federal community development, disaster recovery and emergency solutions grant programs
  • $10 million from the city of Orlando, through its Accelerate Orlando initiative
  • $3 million in federal Community Project Funding, secured by Frost

Community partners make up the rest. The law firm Morgan & Morgan made the first publicly announced private gift in June, and the building will be named the Morgan & Morgan Center for Women and Families, the Coalition said at the time. Neither has said how much the firm gave.

The Coalition calls the whole effort the Foundations Project. Its June release described a $60 million public-private partnership over three to five years.

“This project is not simply about construction,” Brad Butterstein, the Coalition’s president and CEO, said when the project launched. “It’s about transformation.”

Why it is being rebuilt

The Coalition has run its downtown campus in Parramore for more than 30 years. Its aging buildings now limit the care it can give women and families, it said in May. The new center replaces its current one.

The city has not said when the building will open.

What it means for you