For Immediate Release
Media Contact: Sam Gil
Camillus House
305-374-1065 ext. 328 (office)
samgil@camillus.org • www.camillus.org
Camillus House completes land deal and sets sights on construction of new 3.1 acre campus
MIAMI – Camillus House has completed a complex land-swap arrangement that will clear the way for development of its new 3.1-acre campus on Northwest Seventh Avenue between 15th and 17th streets.
Construction of the new 340-bed campus, designed to meet the needs of persons who are chronically homeless, is expected to begin in the third quarter of this year and be completed in mid-2010.
The University of Miami transferred the property on June 10 to the State of Florida, which granted Camillus House a 60-year lease on the land. In exchange, the university obtained a state-owned property on Northwest Seventh Avenue between 17th and 20th streets, where it will build a biosciences center.
The timing of the transaction enabled Camillus House to qualify for $20.1 million in tax credits through the Florida Housing Finance Corporation, which will fund construction of an 80-unit apartment building on the new campus. This building will provide permanent housing for Camillus clients.
“Now that the transfer of the land has been finalized, we can move forward with our plans to build our expanded treatment and residential facilities to reach a larger percentage of the homeless population,” said Camillus House President and CEO Dr. Paul R. Ahr. “This important transaction puts us one step closer to our goal of ending chronic homelessness in Greater Miami.”
The new state-of-the-art Camillus House campus will feature multiple buildings including a total of 340 beds for individuals who will be provided a wide range of social services and clinical treatment programs. The beds will increase emergency, transitional and permanent supported housing, and facilitate the addition of residential treatment and emergency housing for women.
This expansion also will enable Camillus House to sell its existing, obsolete 20,000-square-foot building at 726 Northeast First Avenue. Proceeds from this sale will be donated to Camillus House’s ongoing $88 million capital campaign to build and operate the new campus. This campaign has already raised more than 50 percent of the private-sector philanthropic goal, including significant gifts from corporate, foundation and individual donors.
Camillus House has provided humanitarian services to persons who are poor and homeless in Miami-Dade County for 48 years. Established by the Little Brothers of the Good Shepherd in 1960, Camillus House has grown steadily over the years from a small overnight shelter into a full-service center for persons who are poor and homeless.