Lazarillo Place

Ponce, Puerto Rico

The Centro Deambulantes Cristo Pobre, Inc. (Cristo Pobre Homeless Center) was founded in 1997 with the objective of providing basic services in a safe environment to people without a home, in order to to promote reinsertion into the family unit and society. The concept for Lazarillo Place was developed in line with that mission, to satisfy the needs of the homeless community and low income community of Ponce going through difficulties after the events of hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017.  When the hurricanes hit, Puerto Rico was still suffering the effects of a ten-year recession and the effects of these atmospheric events exacerbated the social and economic strain.

This project proposes strategies for urban renewal, redevelopment, and revitalization of a particular zone in the northwestern side of Ponce, the largest city in the south of Puerto Rico. It involves the rehabilitation of approximately half a block to create a self-sustainable facility which incorporates housing and social services for the homeless, as well as subsidized rental opportunities for low-income families and individuals. The wide range of people being served by the project demonstrates a strategy of social re-integration which is key to the success of the project. In addition to housing opportunities, street-level commercial spaces to be rented at low rates will provide opportunities to emerging businesses, while creating work opportunities for participants of the Cristo Pobre program. The project will include spaces for social and community support services to be provided by the institution through counseling, therapy and communal activities, complementing the social-reintegration intentions of the project.

The strategic location turns the project into a bridge between the more affluent and commercially viable Historic Center and the northwestern zone of the city. The effect of the project in its surrounding areas is expected to encourage more development and further urban renewal. As envisioned, the revitalization of this initial zone will help to jump-start improvements down the Guadalupe Street corridor to the west, and to other sectors further away from the center of town.

The high cost of development requires a special grant or funding program to make the project a reality, but costs should be considered in light of the benefits that Lazarillo Place can bring to a whole community and surrounding areas, and not just to the direct participants in the programs offered by the Centro Deambulantes Cristo Pobre. Lazarillo Place proposes an attainable, sustainable, and viable strategy for the inclusive rehabilitation of a downtrodden precinct, and new, realistic and fare opportunities for a community in need.