Gainesville’s 10-year plan to end homelessness is entering the home stretch.
On Tuesday, the city will acquire the former Gainesville Correctional Institution to convert it into a center for the disadvantaged.
“This site is really the capstone of that plan,” said city spokesman Bob Woods.
Gainesville paid $1.3 million for the 30.85-acre property, 2845 NE 39th Ave., according to a city news release.
The center, which doesn’t have an opening date set yet, will start with at least four buildings in use. One will be a kitchen and dining room, one will be a dormitory, one will house administrative offices, and the fourth will be a laundry facility, Woods said. The property includes access roads, a parking lot and other buildings that may be converted after a more concrete plan is established.
The plan was launched eight years ago, Woods said. Much of the work completed since 2005 involved research and coordinating city and county efforts.
“Our biggest issue, frankly, has been finding a site to provide a full range of services,” Woods said.
On Oct. 31, the city issued a request for proposal for potential vendors to outline how they plan to use the center.
Ideas range from community gardens to job training to mental health services and even storage facilities. The center will serve not only those who are homeless, but also those who are hungry.
Woods said volunteers have done some work on the site such as repairing cracks and stabilizing buildings. Further renovations will depend on the requirements of the winning proposal.
Critics of the site believe it is too far away from city life to be practical. Critic Annette Gilley is a member of Occupy Gainesville, which focuses on homelessness.
“We don’t have a homeless problem so much as we have a homeless visibility problem,” she said in an interview last month.
Although the center is a former correctional facility, Woods said it will be an open campus. He said the center doesn’t have a name yet, but the working title is the Empowerment Center.
“That word, ‘empowerment,’ says it all. That’s really the goal for this center,” he said.
A version of this story ran on page 4 on 11/13/2013 under the headline "City paid $1.3 million to acquire former jail for social work"
