What is Providence Place?

Providence Place is a proposed affordable housing development with supportive services to help residents make the transition from being homeless to being able to maintain safe and stable housing. The Melbourne City Council will consider a revised development agreement for the project during the March 11, 2025, City Council meeting. 

How many units will Providence Place provide?

Providence Place is proposing to develop up to 120 affordable apartment units for low, very low or extremely low households. The units will be one- and two-bedroom units with individual kitchens and bathrooms and are defined as multi-family residential units per the Zoning Code.

Where is the proposed location of Providence Place?

850 South Apollo Boulevard

Will Providence Place be the same as Daily Bread?

The proposed project is not a relocation of the Daily Bread soup kitchen or day shelter. It is a new affordable housing project that would provide supportive services to the residents who live there. Under the revised development agreement, the Daily Bread will close its soup kitchen and day shelter on Fee Avenue. It will shift to a new model of mobile basic needs outreach services dispersed throughout the area to continue to encounter and assist the unhoused population to attain housing opportunities.

Will Providence Place be a temporary shelter or transitional shelter?

No, the tenants will lease the apartments with typical long-term leases (7 months or longer) and will pay rent based upon state and federal guidelines. 

How will residents obtain apartments at Providence Place?

Residents will be referred to Providence Place through the Brevard Continuum of Care (CoC)* Coordinated Entry System, taking into account factors such as need and history of housing and homelessness in the Melbourne area. 

Coordinated Entry is a consistent, streamlined process by which residents are prioritized for housing through a local, community-designed assessment tool. This process ensures that resources are used as efficiently and effectively as possible, and those who need wrap around supportive services have access to them.

What services will be provided to help its residents be successful? 

• Typical residential amenities such as laundry, community rooms and gathering spaces, along with fitness and art opportunities.
• Housing Case Management Services to assist with the transition into a stable living environment.
• Healthcare Services related to primary care services with integrated behavioral health services, dental and vision care, and substance abuse care.
• On-site resident café, market, clothing and hygiene assistance.
• Property Management Services typical of a multi-family development, including establishment of community rules and standards for resident and guest conduct.
• On-site Security that includes 24 hour on-site personnel, a security system and access control system for the property.
• Skills development, job training, employment services and educational resources to address a variety of resident needs.
• Transportation services to assist with resident mobility to provide access to public transportation, a community shuttle and bicycles.

Why would Providence Place need a commercial kitchen?

A “commercial kitchen” is found in any structure that is not an individual residence. “Residential kitchens” are found in single-family homes, apartments, and other individual housing units and will be included within each apartment unit at Providence Place.

The kitchen at Providence Place will be used to prepare meals for residents in a café style setting to promote socialization and engagement. It also may be used to prepare meals with other community partners to distribute off-site in accordance with the defined Mobile Basic Need Support Services restrictions.  The kitchen will not operate as a soup kitchen for the public.

Providence Place will not offer walk-in services for people in need but will operate strictly as a housing complex with supportive services for the residents who live there.

How will safety of the residents and the neighboring properties and businesses be maintained?

There will be professional staff at Providence Place 24 hours a day, seven days a week, which will include security services at night.

When will Daily Bread close its soup kitchen and day shelter facility on Fee Avenue?

Daily Bread will cease these operations on Fee Avenue 60 days after approval of the revised development agreement. If City Council approves the revised development agreement on March 11, 2025, Daily Bread would cease operations at its Fee Avenue location in mid-May 2025.

How will the development agreement be enforced? What will happen if Providence Place begins to use its kitchen as a walk-in soup kitchen?

A recorded deed restriction will be placed on the Providence Place project site at 850 Apollo Boulevard that will prohibit the following uses:

• soup kitchen;
• day shelter;
• all types of shelters;
• other more intensive commercial uses.

Additionally, City Code prohibits these uses within the C-1 zoning district.  As the property is zoned C-1, any operation of these types of uses would be considered a violation of the Zoning Code and subject to City Code Enforcement action.

What is the City’s role in the development of Providence Place?

Under the revised development agreement, the City will provide a $3 million development incentive grant for the design, construction and/or financing of the project.

This grant is part of the City Council’s larger vision to create more affordable housing options in the City of Melbourne and to implement long-term solutions for the problem of homelessness in our community.

In 2024, City Council approved a funding agreement to allocate $500,000 in original American Rescue Plan Act funds to help construct two homes on Lipscomb Avenue and an additional home on Steele Street. Council also approved a $500,000 agreement to Brevard Neighborhood Development Coalition Inc. from the original ARPA funds to construct an eight-unit, multifamily rental building on Masterson Street.

What else is the City of Melbourne doing to address homelessness and the affordable housing crisis?

The City of Melbourne works with local nonprofit partners and manages state and federal grant programs to help address the lack of affordable housing in our community and to help those who are experiencing homelessness. The City is also a member of the Brevard Continuum of Care (CoC)* and holds a position on the CoC Advisory Council to understand the current issues and obstacles and participate in solutions and difficulties.

Since 2016, the City of Melbourne has been a partner in the Street to Home program, which helps people who are living on the streets exit homelessness and transition into stable housing through a combination of targeted outreach and intensive case management. The City of Melbourne contributes $50,000 annually to fund a housing case manager for this effort, and also provides support from its Community Development and Melbourne Police departments.

In 2020 and 2021, the City designated an additional $400,000 in federal coronavirus relief funds toward bridge housing and other programs that helped those who were unsheltered or at imminent risk of becoming homeless utilizing community agencies, including Daily Bread, Steadytown, South Brevard Sharing Center and Family Promise of Brevard.

*A Continuum of Care (CoC) is a local planning body that is responsible for coordinating the funding and delivery of housing and services for people experiencing homelessness with the goal of achieving long-term housing stability. The Brevard CoC serves all of Brevard County, including its municipalities.

For More Information

Please see Item #14 on the March 11, 2025, City Council Meeting Agenda to review the agenda memo and full development agreement.