Kissimmee officials gave progress reports on several city projects at a recent town hall-style meeting of the Kissimmee Main Street association.
Updates were given on the Haven on Vine housing project, the Freebee ride service, and a new city branding strategy.
The Haven on Vine project is a conversion of the former Super 8 Motel with 123 units on the corner of Vine and Hollywood Street into affordable housing and related services. The City purchased the property one year ago. Deputy City Manager and Haven Project Manager Desiree Matthews said that Phase 1A of the project is now already complete, with 40 twobed, one-bath apartments available for occupancy. Phase 1B will add 43 studio apartments with kitchenettes and a bathroom. These are expected to be completed and ready for occupancy by the end of 2024.
Phases 1A and 1B are meant to provide permanent affordable rental housing. A later Phase 2 will develop the remaining 40 units as emergency/bridge housing and related emergency services.
“We identified that this particular property was ideal,” said Matthews. “It is located next to a lot of transportation, retail centers, and it really gave us an opportunity as well to look at ways to define our corridor by taking an aged property that has the ability to add a significant impact here in the City of Kissimmee, as well as in the families that we serve.” Tenant requirements for the Haven on Vine include a oneyear Osceola County residency requirement, after which priority is given to the homeless, families with minor children, veterans, people with disabilities, seniors and unaccompanied youth, domestic violence program participants, and Workforce Development program participants.
Cal ling it “hugely successful,” Development Services Director Craig Holland outlined the growth of the Freebee downtown Kissimmee ride service. The service provides free pointto- point rides from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, within about a mile radius of downtown Kissimmee, including the SunRail station, similar to an Uber or Lyft model. Holland says three dedicated Tesla cars (and an accessible van available on request) have gone from 394 passenger rides in April of 2023 to 2,347 passenger rides in May of 2024. The average wait time for a ride is about 10 minutes, although often much less, and can be accessed through the Freebee app.
Benj amin Burne tt , Kissimmee Redevelopment Planner, outlined the Brand Strategy Project, which kicked off its first phase in early June, gathering information and seeking community input into developing a brand.
“This brand really helps us get downtown Kissimmee on the map as a destination. It lets us tell the story of Kissimmee– of the restaurants and the shopping, of the lakefront, - put that all in one cohesive image that can be used to spread the word about our area,” Burnett said. The city hopes to develop a logo and community tagline by the end of 2024.
The meeting began with a short presentation by State Attorney Andrew Bain, who briefly outlined his background and the job his office is performing.
The meeting, held at the Kissimmee Christian Church, had about 30 attendees and was broadcast online as well.
