On Tuesday, the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners approved additional funding for four affordable housing developments proposed for Pinellas County.

The four projects, which were granted a total of $12.5 million at Tuesday’s meeting, will add over 300 affordable rental units to St. Petersburg, Lealman, and Largo over the next few years.

“I just wanted to say this is fabulous,” said Commissioner René Flowers during Tuesday’s meeting. “We are approving these [funding requests]. Some people may not watch our meetings, so they may not know what we are doing. But we consistently hear from people in the community. People who are at 80% AMI or below, they want to see projects in that arena. We are continuing to build upon the decisions that were made some time ago by this body to really look at those areas.”

Recently, leaders from all over the region have been taking steps to help alleviate the housing affordability crisis we are currently experiencing.

Last month, the Advantage Pinellas Housing Compact announced the Housing Action Plan, a comprehensive plan aimed at creating more housing choices attainable by people at all income levels.

“Neither the County nor any of the cities can do this alone,” states the Housing Action Plan. “We need all of our partners, including local governments, nonprofit agencies, businesses, developers and community advocates to help champion this Action Plan to make it a success.”

The Advantage Pinellas Housing Compact is comprised of Pinellas County, Forward Pinellas, and the cities of Clearwater, Gulfport, Largo, Oldsmar, Pinellas Park, St. Petersburg and Treasure Island.

Also last month, St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch announced an expansion to the City's existing 10-year Housing Opportunities for All Plan. Enhancements to the plan include support for renters, plans, financial assistance for residents to preserve existing affordable housing and make properties livable for longer, and incentives and strategic funding to produce more affordable units in St. Pete.

Burlington Post 2

The first project that received funding approval from the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners was Burlington Post 2, a proposed 75-unit apartment development catering to seniors earning at or below 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI).

The development, which is being developed by Green Mills Group, was granted $3.75 million to be used for construction financing.

The project will be constructed at 3201 Burlington Avenue North in St. Petersburg, adjacent to Burlington Post 1, an 86-unit affordable apartment building for seniors which opened in 2018, and Burlington Place, a 53-unit affordable apartment building which opened in 2017. Both Burlington Post 1 and Burlington Place were also developed by Green Mills Group.

The total development cost for Burlington Post II is $28.4 million.

Of the $3.75 million in approved funding, $3,541,977 will come from Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA2) funds and $208,023 will come from Housing Trust Funds.

Other sources of funding for Burlington Post 2 include Florida Housing Finance Corporation, Housing Finance Authority 4.0% tax credit equity, City of St. Petersburg ERA2, American Rescue Plan Act and Community Redevelopment Area, and a deferred developer fee.

Construction is expected to begin in October 2023.

Heritage Oaks

Heritage Oaks, an 80-unit affordable apartment development for seniors, was approved for $3.36 million in funding for construction financing.

Heritage Oaks, which is being developed by Newstar, will consist of a single three-story building to be built at 12455 130th Avenue North in Largo. It is the first phase of redevelopment of the Rainbow Village public housing complex located in the Greater Ridgecrest area. 

This project will replace 48 existing units on the Rainbow Village Apartments site, which includes the demolition of approximately 24 buildings that have substantial deferred maintenance and are functionally obsolete. The new building will consist of 74 one-bedroom and 6 two-bedroom units.

Heritage Oaks was awarded 9.0% tax credits in early 2022 but the developer has since reported significant construction cost increases as well as interest rate hikes. The County’s prior commitment was $610,000 combined with the new request for $2.75 million results in the total of $3.36 million from Pinellas County.

The project’s total development cost is $29 million.

Of the $3.36 million approved on Tuesday, $1 million will come from The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program, $1.5 million will come from the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, and $860,000 will come from the State Housing Initiatives Program.

Other sources of funding include 9.0% tax credit equity, Raymond James loan proceeds, and a deferred developer fee.

Heritage Oaks is expected to break ground in May 2023. 

Lealman Heights

An 86-unit affordable apartment project called Lealman Heights was granted $2 million in funding. The building will cater to households making at or below 80% AMI.

The subject properties are in the Lealman Community Redevelopment Area (CRA) and are bound by 41st Street North, 58th Avenue North, 39th Street North, and 56th Avenue North.

The parcels were acquired by the Housing Finance Authority of Pinellas County in 2016 with Penny for Pinellas funding for affordable housing development.

Since being purchased, existing units have been utilized as affordable rentals and 12 new homes have been built on vacant lots by Habitat for Humanity.

The developer of Lealman Heights, SP Pinellas II LLC, says significant construction cost increases and environmental assessment expenses have delayed the project and resulted in a funding gap, prompting them to apply for more County funding assistance.

The $2 million in funding will come from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) grant funds allocated to the County by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The total project cost for Lealman Heights is $28.5 million. The rest of the project will be financed using Low-income Housing Tax Credits (4.0% tax credits), multi-family mortgage revenue bonds, and private equity.

Lealman Heights is expected to begin construction in September 2023.

Skyway Lofts 2

The last project to receive funding approval on Tuesday was Skyway Lofts 2, a proposed 66-unit affordable apartment development for households earning at or below 80% AMI.

Skyway Lofts 2, which will be constructed at 3800 34th Street South in St. Petersburg, was granted $3.4 million for land acquisition and construction costs. The funds will come out of the Penny IV Affordable Housing Program. 

The developer, Blue Sky Communities, also developed Skyway Lofts 1, which opened in 2022 at 3900 34th Street South.

The project’s total development cost is $23 million. Other funding sources will be provided by Housing Finance Authority 4.0% tax credit equity, a deferred developer fee, and the City of St. Petersburg American Rescue Plan Act funds.

Skyway Lofts 2 is expected to start construction in May 2023.