LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A big deadline passed Friday in the Community Care Campus project, which is planned to go just east of I-65 in downtown Louisville, between Breckenridge, Floyd, College and Brook Streets.
Friday at 3 p.m. was the deadline for interested contractors, social service agencies, and more to say that they wanted to be a part of the homeless outreach project, which has a total of $2 million allotted to it in the city's budget.
According to a "bid tab" uploaded by the city at 3: 11 p.m. Friday, there were three total bids submitted: one by Addiction Recovery Care (ARC), one by Norton Healthcare, and one by Volunteers of America Mid-States. A fourth entity "Stay Clean" was listed, but immediately below it was "non-responsive, did not attend mandatory prebid meeting."
At least 33 different entities downloaded documents on the city's RFP page, showing they were at least interested in the project.
Riggs Lewis with Norton Healthcare said Norton, UofL Health, and Family Health Centers submitted a joint application specifically to run the medical respite care building on the campus.
Lewis and Natalie Harris, executive director for the Coalition for the Homeless, were two of the people who stood on stage with the mayor when this idea was debuted on Jan. 26. Harris said that the Coalition for the Homeless itself did not submit a bid, but she did pass along the opportunity to their member organizations.
The Coalition has many member organizations, listed here, including Volunteers of America, and Family Health Centers.
Some of the main ideas for the space have included family housing, temporary shelter, medical respite care, wrap-around services and a safe outdoor space.
Donny Greene from Feed Louisville told WHAS11 in July that he thought it was unfair that the city was not putting any more than $2 million towards this project.
"Requiring organizations to 'pay to offer services' will result in organizations having fewer resources/dollars to deliver services to the thousands of houseless individuals who need and deserve our support," Greene said.
The project has roughly six buildings on site, and their needs vary greatly. The former C2 event space is in near pristine condition but might require some updates to make it ready for the desired use. Others like the "kitchen" and "laundry" buildings are abandoned buildings where copper wires have been ripped out or there are many loose construction materials.
Marilyn Harris with the city's Office of Housing and Community Development said during a tour on July 18, "when the contractors transferred the deed to us, they essentially took what they wanted and left everything else."
Vocal Kentucky and Kentucky Harm Reduction Coalition have also expressed concern that the Care Campus plan has not been managed very well and city resources aren't in the right place.
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