An Orlando nonprofit that provides free medical care, discounted groceries and other services to low-income residents suffered a collapsed roof this summer and now says the rotting, 80-year-old building must be replaced.
United Against Poverty, which is on track to serve more than 13,000 people this year, has a plan: sell some of its real estate in south Orlando to a developer that will build affordable housing for low-income seniors and the will then use profits to build a new facility.
The nonprofit and other social service groups say there has been a spike in the number of older residents needing help paying bills, so the project would meet that need and help finance a new building.
In 2023, United Against Poverty served 2,652 seniors. So far this year they have helped more than 3,000 people.
United Against Poverty hopes its plans will allow it to better serve all its customers and “make a statement that we care about seniors who are struggling,” said Dan Pugh, chairman of the board.
The new building would cost an estimated $16 million and require financial support from private donors and grants from the city of Orlando and Orange County, according to the nonprofit, which unveiled its plans at a luncheon earlier this month.
United Against Poverty currently operates out of a 1940s munitions factory along the railroad tracks on Michigan Street.
It helps residents living in poverty, including the homeless, by providing an urgent care clinic, a discount shopping center, an emergency food bank and job training programs, among other services.
Under the proposal, part of the four-acre property would be sold to a developer who would build up to 200 homes for low-income seniors.
Money from the land sale would go toward building a new facility for the nonprofit to replace the old building whose roof partially collapsed in July, costing $200,000 in repairs. Heavy rains over Labor Day weekend caused another $50,000 in damage.
In addition to the leaky roof, the flood-prone building is infested with rotting wood, moldy drywall and rodents, said Anjali Vaya, executive director of the nonprofit.
“We connected it as best we could. But if there was a major hurricane, that would happen,” she said.
The city and county helped the nonprofit purchase its property in 2013 with $1 million in grants. Now the country hopes that the two governments will provide aid again.
“We support the development and preservation of truly affordable housing for people at all income levels in the city and look forward to working with them,” said Lisa Portelli, senior homelessness advisor to Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, in an email mail.
Orange County did not respond to a request for comment on the project. But Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings attended the group’s luncheon and praised the nonprofit, saying, “Programs like this allow residents to stretch their budgets and care for their families.”
Vaya and Pugh said they have had promising conversations with government officials, but they will also need private donations.
The agency has a developer, which it declined to identify, interested in the affordable housing project. They estimate the project will cost about $40 million.
United Against Poverty hopes to get $4 million from the sale of the land to cover the $16 million cost of a new 40,000-square-foot building.
“We are quite confident that between the help that the city and the county seem willing to give us, and what we will gain from the sale of the property, and the money we can raise from the community, this is something we can get away with,” Pugh said.
The region needs more housing that is affordable for older residents on limited incomes, officials said. From 2023 to 2024, the Homeless Services Network of Central Florida reported a 26% increase in the number of homeless seniors.
“We have grown very quickly as a community and have not been able to maintain housing infrastructure at the same pace,” said Martha Are, CEO of the Homeless Services Network.
The United States is at the crest of a “silver tsunami” as baby boomers age and are not always financially prepared for retirement, agrees Katy Eld, Medicare strategist for Florida Blue.
“People are living longer, and they’re living longer with fewer resources,” Eld said, adding that the nonprofit’s discounted grocery center gives seniors in need access to nutritious food at a price they can afford.
