Gospel Inc. will cut the ribbon this Friday afternoon, May 15, on 48 new permanent apartments at Gospel Village, the east Lakeland campus that houses people coming out of chronic homelessness.
It’s the biggest expansion in the organization’s history — and for some of the people moving in, it’s the first real home they’ve had in a decade.
“We’ve got some that are literally sleeping on the ground every night,” Executive Director Ray Steadman said, standing outside the newly completed buildings. “Our goal is to get them off the street as quickly as we possibly can.”
What’s opening today
The two new buildings sit on property adjacent to the original Gospel Village campus near the intersection of Main Street and North Lake Parker Avenue. Together the two-story buildings hold 48 one-bedroom apartments, each around 400 square feet. The apartments come fully furnished.
Forty of the apartments will serve residents at or below 30% of the area’s median income, which works out to roughly $18,300 a year…