Melbourne council directs staff to negotiate amended Providence Place plan, sets timeline for Daily Bread transition

Melbourne City Council on Jan. 28 directed staff to negotiate revisions to the development agreement for Providence Place that would move the affordable-housing project from Sarno Road to a parcel on Apollo Boulevard and set parameters for how services and outreach are handled.

The Council’s action followed nearly three hours of public comment and presentations from Providence Place representatives, neighborhood residents and business owners who said homelessness and day-shelter activity around Fee Avenue and downtown have damaged quality of life and local commerce.

The direction from councilers instructs staff to draft an amendment that: (1) substitutes the Apollo Boulevard site for the Sarno Road parcel in the existing November 2023 development agreement; (2) requires the project to prioritize Melbourne residents for the new housing units; (3) treats the project site and the adjacent parcel as a single development area for restrictive covenants; (4) tightens limits on walk-up or day-use services tied to the site; (5) adds security, fencing and other site controls; and (6) sets a completion-deadline extension request to Dec. 31, 2027. Council also asked staff to include a target for the closure of the Fee Avenue soup-kitchen/day-shelter operations once the amended agreement’s conditions are met.

“We are not looking to hurt your business,” Mayor Alford told downtown business owners who opposed moving operations to Apollo Boulevard. “This is nothing more than affordable housing.”

Why it matters

Council members, residents and business owners described prolonged problems near Fee Avenue and downtown — from…