ORLANDO, Fla. _ The federal government is searching a wide swath of Central Florida for a place to house 500 unaccompanied immigrant children as part of the Trump administration's plan to establish a permanent shelter in the region, the Orlando Sentinel has learned.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is seeking to locate the shelter in an area that includes near Walt Disney World as well as Orlando, all of Seminole County, most of Orange and Lake counties and portions of Osceola, Sumter and Polk counties.
In all, the department is looking to lease a building of about 100,000 square feet with 125 bedrooms that would be move-in ready by November 2020, according to a General Services Administration listing.
"Care will be provided 24 hours a day / seven days a week by 500 staff," the listing reads. "The shelter will require child bedrooms / sleeping areas, child bathrooms, classrooms, indoor recreation/ multipurpose areas, medical, dining/food service, administrative and support space. Approximately 2 acres of exterior space shall be provided for outdoor recreation areas."
The site would need about 275 parking spaces and be leasable for about 15 years. Brokers were required to express interest by Aug. 16, with offers due in October.
The land boundaries are for a potential shelter are:
North: State Road 44, starting west of Wildwood east to Interstate 4 near Deltona.
East: Interstate 4 south to State Road 417 north of Kissimmee.
South: State Road 17 to State Road 92 to State Road 570 to State Road 98.
West: State Road 98 north to Interstate 75.
In a letter last month, HHS contacted state lawmakers and mayors informing them a search was underway for vacant properties in Central Florida, as well as Virginia and Los Angeles. The Office of Refugee Resettlement cited a dramatic increase in referrals of (unaccompanied children) from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security this Fiscal Year and continues to operate in emergency influx mode."
Since then, Orlando's planning department has received phone calls from brokers who said they were looking at properties on behalf of the GSA, asking questions about schools and overnight day cares, said Cassandra Lafser, a spokeswoman for Mayor Buddy Dyer. However, the talks haven't progressed, Lafser said.
Last month, a congressional source said a potential Central Florida facility would be considered a permanent shelter, different from the detention camps in Homestead in South Florida and at the border. At least seven children have died in custody at such shelters or after being detained at the border, the ACLU said.
The solicitation says the facility would need 500 staff, with 167 working eight-hour shifts at a time.
It would also include 42 clinical offices for counselors, 63 case worker stations and 83 bathrooms and showers for children. Indoors, the agency wanted 5,000 square feet of classroom space, 15,000 square feet of indoor recreation space and about 3,000 square feet of medical space.
