Friday, March 14 marked the completion of a 20-year mission to construct reasonably priced housing on the positioning of the previous St. Bede’s Catholic Church in Key West.
Greater than 30 years in the past, there have been two Catholic parishes on the 2- by 4-mile island — St. Mary Star of the Sea (now the Basilica of St. Mary Star of the Sea) and St. Bede’s.
Adjustments in island demographics mixed the 2 parishes, and left a big property at 2700 Flagler Avenue that for years was the positioning of the Star of the Sea soup kitchen, staffed by the inimitable Dorothy Sherman till her loss of life. It was the predecessor to the Star of the Sea meals pantry and outreach mission that now helps the whole county by meals pantries and ready meals.
Following that, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami made it its mission to construct reasonably priced housing on the positioning. The primary 37 of 47 models opened in 2021 for Key West employees.
The ultimate 10 models are reserved for disabled residents as everlasting supportive housing.
Archbishop Thomas Wenski rode his motorbike from Miami to Key West on Friday, March 14 to have fun the ribbon-cutting on these closing 10 models — after which to have fun the affirmation of about 60 eighth-graders on the Basilica College that night.
The ultimate 10 models are all spacious efficiencies with accessibility options for disabled residents, together with extra-large bogs, with roll-in showers for wheelchairs. The housing complicated additionally options ramps, a shared laundry facility, out of doors picnic pavilion and customary areas.
Peter Routsis-Arroyo, government director of Catholic Charities in Miami, spoke on the ribbon slicing and detailed the group’s $3.1 million funding within the 10 models to make sure they had been made with concrete block buildings for longevity.
