New apartment complex planned for Orlando homeless residents

Apartment complex for homeless planned in Orange County

A new apartment complex is being built to help house the homeless. One that has already been constructed in Seminole County has been such a success, the same company behind the project is now building one in Orange County.

ORLANDO, Fla. - A new apartment complex is being built to help house the homeless.

One that has already been constructed in Seminole County has been such a success. The same company behind the project is now building one in Orange County.

Karen Baker moved into Warley Park in Sanford last month. Warley Park is the first of two complexes for the homeless, built by Wendover Housing Partners.

"After the pandemic, things kind of went downward. I don’t want to get too much into it, wound up needing some assistance," Baker said.

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Instead of ending up in the streets, she’s in a brand new fully-furnished apartment with everything she needs, including on-site social services and case management.

"I can’t think of a way that it hasn’t changed my life. It’s changed it in every aspect of it," she said.

Soon Durham Place will change even more lives. That’s Wendover Housing Partners' new $28 million 100-unit apartment complex they plan to break ground on this spring along Orange Blossom Trail near Americana Boulevard.

Ryan Von Weller told FOX 35 News this apartment is also being built to help individuals who are homeless or who were previously homeless.

"It’s affordable housing with a very unique set aside, so there’s an income restriction. You can’t make more than a certain amount to qualify to live there," von Weller said.

He says funding for these complexes comes through a 9.5 percent tax credit. And their residents' rent is mostly covered through housing vouchers from the federal government or veterans affairs.

A spokesperson for Homeless Services Network of Central Florida told FOX 35 News that they have over 5,000 homeless people they have worked with in Orange, Seminole, and Osceola Counties over the past year.

They help Wendover Housing Partners identify those most in need to move into these complexes.

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"I don’t think that there’s a day or an hour that goes by that I don’t give thanks for it," Baker said.

Soon enough, many others will share Karen’s gratitude with their own place to call home.

Tune in to FOX 35 Orlando for the latest Central Florida news.

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