The Hope Partnership, which works to systematically end homelessness and poverty in Osceola County, is embarking on a project to build some affordable housing itself.
The process to purchase, and then renovate, an outdated hotel on the U.S. Highway 192 corridor in Kissimmee, is coming to fruition — Hope CEO Mary Downey hopes to close on the property within the next month.
Monday, she, along with county, state and federal-level officials, hosted an event to show what the housing could, and would, look like.
The Teale, a former hotel renovated and converted into 299 studio apartments, is located on 192, west of Hope’s planned project. It was the host on Monday, where Downey said that “a safe place to call home” can look like many different things, included a renovated and expanded hotel.
“It’s incredibly attainable,” Downey said, noting the project to obtain a property has been in the works for years. “We’ve interviewed people across the country, experts who have done this vital work. These types of studios can provide people dignity for people who live and work here.” Hope’s project will be modeled quite a bit after The Teale, which offers its units for $1,350 per month — which includes utilities — at the top end. A single person who makes $35,000 per year can afford any of The Teale’s units, officials said.
And, just like it’s name says, Hope has taken on government partners to fund it, including $1 million in federal grants and $500,000 each from the state and Osceola County level.
“We were proud to secure dollars to help (Hope Partnership) with this first project,” U.S. Rep. Darren Soto, D-Kissimmee, said. “We housing and wraparound services, which Hope Partnership provides. “We need affordable housing for people who work around here.”
State Rep. Kristen Arrington (D-Kissimmee), born and raised in the area, said she’s seen the need for this type of housing all her life.
“These properties really do cater to our work force, and I’m looking forward to the next project come to fruition,” she said.
County Commissioner Cheryl Grieb, a Realtor by trade, said she wasn’t a proponent of hotel conversion projects. But she, too, has been converted.
“Mary has won me over. Projects like this are exactly what we need in Osceola County,” she said. “Studies show the ‘missing middle’ are these studio apartments, and we don’t really have them, but we have a lot of people living in hotels, who aren’t really living in a safe environment.”
Downey said that this isn’t a case of getting people to move back into hotels, something the county has worked to reverse over the last decade.
“This is attainable housing,” she said. “I hope you’ll see it can be beautiful and dignified.”
