Pasco will buy land in Holiday for future homeless shelter

Pasco officials took a cautious step toward assisting the county’s homeless population on Tuesday when the County Commission voted unanimously to spend $775,000 to purchase just over two acres in Holiday.

The land was home to an assisted living facility run by the same owner for 30 years.

The parcel, located at 2654 and 2706 Grand Boulevard, is owned by the Rosemary J. Billingsley Revocable Trust. It is being bought to provide a low-barrier, emergency shelter for homeless people with few options in the county. Low-barrier means that it will accept most people seeking shelter, including those with some criminal history or drug addiction.

Pasco County officials have been talking about the need for options to assist the county’s homeless population for several years, setting aside $1 million last year for a project they call Pasco Hope. It would be modeled after Pinellas Hope, which has assembled a container village providing for the basic needs of the local homeless population.

But getting all commissioners on board with the purchase was a heavy lift for county staff. Commissioners put off a vote early in Tuesday’s meeting citing concerns about the price, how they would pay for it, the condition of the building and how the site would be used now and in the future.

County officials who negotiated the deal told commissioners that the contract for purchase had to be approved Tuesday or rejected. They said rejecting it could put the county in a bad light with the federal funding authorities, which provide community development block grants, the source of the funding.

Cathy Pearson, the county’s assistant administrator for public services, said the county had been talking about providing services for the homeless for awhile and that this would be a good starting point.

Commissioner Jack Mariano was concerned that the staff might not have done enough to study the condition of the building on the site and could be overpaying for two acres of land if it has to be demolished. Andrew Baxter, the county’s facilities management director, told commissioners that the price was in line with the market and that when the county made the offer, another bidder had already made an offer on the property for the same price.

Baxter said the building passed basic inspections, but there were likely expensive repairs that would be needed. County staff also said that with the idea of building modular pallet or container homes on site and possibly using similar temporary structures for central services there if the building was demolished would still make the site a good purchase.

The county will not run the shelter itself, but will seek proposals from organizations interested in operating the shelter.

According to the real estate listing for the Grand Boulevard property on Loop Net, the site includes a two-story, 6,129-square-foot building built in 1971 with eight bedrooms and five bathrooms as well as an apartment with three more bedrooms and two baths. It is licensed for 10 assisted living beds. It also has a water fire suppression system, an outside generator and three air conditioning units.

Mariano said he didn’t want to see the site bought, temporary structures installed and then dismantled and taken to a new location. He also wanted the county to explore using opioid settlement money for part of the funding. Other commissioners agreed that if they made the purchase, it would be an important first step.

Commissioners say their first pick for a needed homeless shelter is the Pasco office of the Tampa Bay Times building on U.S. 19 in Port Richey. County officials have said they have been talking to Tampa Bay Times officials for more than a year about buying the 8.5-acre site. Currently the building is not on the market but commissioners said they want to be ready if it does become available.

There were 695 homeless individuals tallied during the county’s 2024 count. The agenda memo on the purchase states, “this location will provide a safe space for individuals to connect with housing and support services and facilitate their next steps to permanent housing.”