Residents and Business Owners in Palm Bay Florida 32907: Please sign this petition to Say NO to Grace Place in Palm Bay 

 We support this project ! JUST NOT IN PALM BAY 

This project will better serve Brevard County (as intended) more centrally located in Brevard County rather than at the southern point. 

The City of Palm Bay is already facing numerous issues caused by the population growth, aging  and currently unsustainable infrastructure and utilities. Unfortunately due to the well documented historic nature of projects such as these, the Residential area that is slated for the location of this project will not work for the citizens of Palm Bay. 

Too many schools, businesses and private homes will be negatively impacted by the proximity. Additionally, the City will be unable to sustain the needs of this project to continue long term past the initial endowment. Police, Fire, Utilities- all will continue to lose efficiency to protect our citizens. We must use funds in ways that will continue to positively impact our City instead. Furthermore, the intended project as is stated, is not currently allowed at the proposed location as per zoning regulations. 

See below for press release by Daily Bread 

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A Community Solution to the Housing Crisis

PALM BAY, FL – Daily Bread Inc., a local non-profit organization with a rich 30-year history of operating in South Brevard, is in the conceptual stages of developing a mixed-use affordable housing community to combat the area’s growing housing crisis. Once complete, this $24 million development will be Palm Bay’s first major affordable housing project in over a decade, and the first to feature supportive services and commercial amenities co-located on-site. Daily Bread’s new, purpose-built initiative will be the culmination of an organizational transformation to secure the local non-profit’s future in providing solutions to the housing crisis and addressing the root causes of homelessness. 

Called “Grace Place”, the proposed 4-story mixed-income community will include 126 units of supportive, affordable, and workforce housing for households unable to afford the high cost of market-rate housing in Brevard County. The ground floor of Grace Place will feature a large community center, a full-service health clinic in partnership with Brevard Health Alliance (BHA), a restaurant café, and a wash-n-fold laundromat and fitness center, all of which will be open to the public. The BHA clinic will be the only health center in the 32907 zip code to offer medical, behavioral health, pediatrics, and pharmacy services to households who are Medicaid-insured or uninsured. The cafe and laundromat will double as training centers for residents to learn a trade and gain employment. All commercial amenities are planned to be community-owned and create jobs for residents and others who are un- or under-employed.

Financed through a mix of local government grants, private philanthropy, and low-interest loans, Grace Place will offer one, two, and three bedroom housing units. The City of Melbourne has set aside $2.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding for Grace Place. Daily Bread has applied for $5 million in ARPA funding from the City of Palm Bay and will make a presentation to Palm Bay City Council at an upcoming special meeting. The ARPA funds from both municipalities are intended for projects that address homelessness, affordable housing, or public services associated with such efforts. Grace Place will meet the needs of the community by addressing all three efforts in one comprehensive project. 

Local government contributions for the creation of affordable housing have been the missing piece, but through the bold leadership of Palm Bay and Melbourne, this critical need will be successfully addressed. Grace Place will show what can be accomplished when we come together and leverage our collective action as a community.

Currently, a site in Palm Bay is envisioned as the location for Grace Place. Utilizing low impact design, the development will fit with the character of the surrounding neighborhood and maximize high-value green space and vegetative buffering. A location has not been formalized and nothing in the plan has been set in stone. At this time, obtaining and leveraging funding is the priority. 

Spearheaded by Dr. Jeffrey Njus, Executive Director of Daily Bread, Grace Place is gaining support and accolades as an evolved concept for combatting homelessness while simultaneously addressing the affordable housing crisis in South Brevard.

“The timing is right to make a generational impact,” says Jeff Njus. “There is funding, property, and passionate support available for this desperately needed solution to affordable housing in Brevard. We simply need to come together as a community.”

This locally-owned housing development will be dedicated to remaining affordable in perpetuity to combat the growing problem of dwindling affordable housing inventory available in the Brevard County market. The project will plug into the regional network of mission-based housing initiatives to ensure the Space Coast as an overall economic region will benefit. Grace Place in Palm Bay will tie in with partner projects in Melbourne (Heritage Park), Cocoa (Orchid Lakes), and Titusville (Apollo Gardens).