Orange County’s Housing Trust Fund to Provide Housing for Chronically Homeless Disabled Veterans

Addressing the affordable housing crisis in Orange County means more than building new apartment communities from the ground up. It also means reimagining existing spaces to meet urgent community needs.

Through its Affordable Housing Trust Fund, Orange County is partnering with Pathlight Home, a local nonprofit, to create new housing for chronically homeless disabled veterans.

Pathlight previously converted a former Hilton Inn near John Young Parkway into single-room occupancy units, offering permanent supportive housing. Now, with County support, the nonprofit is preparing to transform the hotel's penthouse suite into five ADA-accessible units for disabled veterans earning between 30 and 50 percent of the Area Median Income. An additional unit will be built on the bottom floor.

"Having the support of Orange County throughout this process has been tremendous," said Zeus Gonzalez, asset manager with Pathlight Home. "There's definitely demand for housing, and Orange County's support makes all the difference. I appreciate the County's patience, leniency and guidance."

Gonzalez expects the six new units to be completed by late 2026. The County has dedicated $84,100 to the project from its Affordable Housing Trust Fund - part of Mayor Jerry L. Demings' Housing For All Initiative to promote and incentivize affordable housing development.

The Board of County Commissioners initially committed $160 million to the Trust Fund for its first 10 years. In November 2024, local voters approved a charter amendment to make the fund permanent. Since its creation in 2020, the County has allocated $58 million to more than a dozen projects, supporting nearly 2,400 affordable units. In addition, $6.5 million has gone toward preservation projects that repair and maintain existing homes and buildings, keeping them viable as affordable housing.

Pathlight Homes currently provides housing and supportive services to more than 600 formerly homeless individuals in Central Florida. According to the Homeless Services Network of Central Florida, Orange County recorded 1,972 sheltered and unsheltered homeless individuals in January 2025, including 126 homeless veterans.

For the upcoming Fiscal Year, which begins Oct. 1, Orange County has committed $51.6 million to homeless services to expand shelter capacity and launch new initiatives.

"We're working diligently in this community to address homelessness," Mayor Jerry Demings said at the Sept. 16 Board of County Commission meeting. "We still have a long way to go in getting people off our streets, but this holistic approach holds great promise for us."

To learn more about how Orange County is tackling housing affordability, visit Housing For All.

This is the second in a series of stories about how Orange County's Affordable Housing Trust Fund is impacting local lives.