The number of possible locations for Gainesville's one-stop homeless center have officially decreased to two.
The Gainesville City Commission created a list of three possible locations in September after it found the originally proposed property at 3335 N. Main Terrace unacceptable.
Though the City Commission postponed a decision on a final location at its meeting Thursday, one location, a county-owned property on Southwest 63rd Boulevard, is no longer an option.
Alachua County commissioners announced at their Tuesday meeting that they would not allow Gainesville to use their property for the homeless center.
The center, which has been under debate for three years, would provide counseling, housing and shelter referrals, meals, education, job training, laundry and hygiene facilities, limited medical services, lockers, and telephones.
City Commissioner Craig Lowe expressed concerns with the county's decision to reject the location, saying that the center was intended to be a shared responsibility.
"Those who are most vulnerable are the homeless individuals," Lowe said.
Two property choices remain.
Neither are near downtown Gainesville, which was originally considered the most appropriate location for the center because of its proximity to transportation and other services.
The first, at Northeast 63rd Avenue and Waldo Road, is currently part of unincorporated Alachua County and would need to be annexed into city limits if the center were built there.
City staff said at the meeting that they will investigate the possibility of using that property. They also said they would find out if five acres of the property's parcel can be donated or if a lower price is negotiable.
If annexation is unfeasible, another property, located along the 800 block of Northwest 53rd Avenue, is still a possibility.
Mayor Pegeen Hanrahan said at the meeting that both remaining locations would require shelters to be built.
People need a roof over their heads, she said.
The city has $413,223 available for leasing a site and $268,000 for building construction. It would have to pursue additional grant programs for either of the properties.
Hanrahan also said that though Gainesville is a small part of the landmass of Alachua County, it is home to nearly half its population and the majority of its homeless people.
"There are some parts of town, predominantly downtown and Eastside, that have borne the burden not just for the city, but for the region," she said.
