21 Foot Lighted Cross to Top the Orlando Union Rescue Mission's New 150-Bed Spanish Style Center





The proposed relocation of the Orlando Union Rescue Mission from its current site on Central Boulevard (which houses 130 guests) to a new facility on the corner of Terry Avenue and W Anderson Street (which will house 150 guests) in downtown Orlando will require a Growth Management Plan Amendment and a rezoning of the property to Planned Development to accommodate the proposed use and program.

It will be presented at a Municipal Planning Board hearing on November 17, 2015. 

The Orlando Union Rescue Mission received no funding from City of Orlando for the 2014/15 period. 
Quick Facts
  1. Building Use – Residential Care Facility, Social Services Facility, On-Site Temporary Housing
  2. Building Area – 37,350 sq ft 
  3. Building Floors – 2 
  4. Overnight Guest Capacity – 150 people

Existing Conditions
  1. The 1.06 acre site is comprised of four complete parcels, a portion of the OUC Chiller Plant parcel, and a portion of the Chapman Court cul-de-sac. 
  2. The site was formerly the location of several two-story multi-family buildings that were demolished in 2011 and the site has since been vacant.

Features of the building
  • A 60-space bike rack will accommodate the center's clients, most of which use bikes as a major transportation mode. 
  • To avoid the appearance of loitering, the design of the facility will include a courtyard to accommodate guests within the premises of the facility while they wait for the facility to open. 
  • Modern materials and lighting will be used to build a 21 ft tall recreation of the historic/iconic giant cross seen at the original location. 

Uses Inside the Building
  1. The services provided by the Mission are not intended for the chronically homeless, who are referred to other shelters that accommodate that need.
  2. The new facility will focus more on the intake and rapid placement of men with the goal of reducing emergency shelter needs and expanding the focus on rapid housing placement within the community or enrollment in the Work Extension Program and the Resident Work Rehabilitation Program. 
  3. The new facility's resource center will be used for job training, job opportunities, and permanent housing placement for those overnight guests who choose to stay and use the center following the 7 AM check-out.

The 150 guests the building will hold include the following:
  1. 50 overnight guests
  2. 40 participants in the Work Extension Program
  3. 60 participants in the Resident Work Rehabilitation Ministry

 First Floor (majority of the emergency residential services)
  1. intake area
  2. bunk rooms
  3. laundry facilities
  4. storage, kitchen
  5. dining/multi-purpose room
  6. OURM offices

Second Floor (Resident Work Rehabilitation Ministry and Work Extension Program)
  1. boarding rooms
  2. classrooms 
  3. computer rooms
  4. fitness area
  5. lounge
  6. offices