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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCRA-R-05-0034 Back-up Documentation4•04 • Camillus House July 14, 2005 Mr. Frank Rollason Executive Director Community Redevelopment Agency City of Miami 49 N.W. 5`h Street, Suite 100 Miami, Florida 33128 Dear Frank: }a►Stas6 siint Camillus House, Inc. Sponsored by Brothers of the Good Shepherd 336 NW Fifth Street Miami, FL 33128 Mailing Address: PO Box 011829 Miami, FL 33101-1829 Tel: (305) 374-1065 Fax: (305) 372-1402 Camillus House is respectfully submitting for your review this request for funds in support of the beautification of our facility located at 726 NE 1st Avenue. The BHES facility is the heartbeat of the Camillus House organization. It is here that we serve hundreds of thousands of free meals to those who are hungry. It is here that we provide thousands of showers and exchanges of clean clothing to those who have only the clothing on their backs. It is here that we offer productive and meaningful activities for severely mentally ill persons who have nowhere else to go. And it is here that we provide comprehensive mental health and substance abuse treatment services to those who society has left behind. It is here that Camillus House turns lives around. Ironically, the BHES facility is located in the heart of the upcoming development boom of downtown Miami. While Camillus has been working diligently over the past several years to relocate BHES to a larger and more appropriate site, this process may take several more years to complete. Unfortunately, the BHES facility has not been able to keep up with the increasing service demands, and the building is in need of many structural repairs if it is to continue to operate until the new facility has been completed. In addition, the building is in need of many facade improvements if it is to blend in with its surroundings over the next several years as the development boom begins. Quite frankly, the current facility's facade contributes to the slum and blight for which the CRA was created to eliminate. The requested funding would be utilized for the projects identified below with the overall objective to improve its visual perception in the neighborhood. Hope is Where the Heart is. • • In response, Camillus House has recently completed a comprehensive evaluation of the BHES facility and has compiled a list of the major capital improvement needs that will carry it through the transition to the new location. The total estimated cost for the entire project is approximately $250,000. Camillus House is requesting from the CRA a total of $50,000 towards two items: o Installation of new stadium -style lighting along the building's entire perimeter — approximately $25,000. There are currently only a handful of light fixtures on the building's exterior, and those fixtures are frequently broken by persons wishing to loiter outside the building during the nighttime. New lighting, installed on tall stadium -style poles, will be difficult to damage, will deter nighttime loitering, and will substantially improve the safety and security of the building's exterior. o Replacement of all exterior windows with new impact -resistant glass -- approximately $25,000. Every window / window opening on the building is in need of replacement. Some existing Plexiglas windows are old, cracked, and yellowed beyond opacity. Some broken windows have been taped, and some have been covered with plywood. New windows will substantially improve the aesthetics of the facade, while also providing an additional layer of security for the building's interior. Camillus House is hopeful that the CRA will look favorably upon our request. We are excited about the development of downtown Miami, and we are committed to working with the City to make the transition as smooth as possible. Sincerely, 12tAte/kit,5 Dr. Paul R. Ahr President • • Camillus House rn•1 V Camillus House, Inc. . Sponsored Iiy Brothers of the Good Shepherd 336 NW Fifth Street Miart�i, FI .33128 Mailing Address: PO Box 011829 Miami. FL 33-101-1829 Id: (.305) 374-1065 F<tx: (305) 372-1402 RESOLUTION CAMILLUS HOUSE, INC. RESOLUTION BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Authorizing the CRA Grant The Executive Committee of the Camillus House Board of Directors authorizes Dr. Paul Ahr, President, to request $50,000 from the Overtown / Park West Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) of the City of Miami, for the purpose of purchasing (1) stadium - style lighting for the exterior perimeter of the facility at 726 NE 1st Avenue, and (2) impact resistant exterior windows for the same location. The overall objective is to improve the visual perception of the building to the surrounding neighborhood, which is in keeping with the CRA mission of eliminating slum and blight in that neighborhood. It further authorizes Dr. Ahr to negotiate with the CRA on such a grant, and to be the signatory for whatever documents Camillus House would be required to execute in the process of obtaining the funds. Dated this 3 ( sr- day of August, 2005 if Chairman of the Board Hope is Where the Heart is.