Janelle Irwin Taylor
Two groundbreakings this week will officially kick off construction on 110 new affordable housing units in St. Petersburg.
On Tuesday, elected officials from St. Pete and Pinellas County will be on hand to break ground on the Bayou Court Apartments, located at 4201 6th St. S. The site will be home to 60 affordable units.
Then on Friday, officials will also appear for a groundbreaking of Innovare, a downtown complex set to open in St. Pete’s Innovation District, located at 850 5th Ave. S. There, 50 affordable units are planned.
The Tuesday groundbreaking will be at 10:30 a.m., and the Friday event at 10 a.m. The Friday event will feature a future resident who has faced homelessness.
Bayou Court Apartments will be located next to Lakewood Elementary School and will offer first dibs to local school and city employees. Units will also be available to individuals and families earning between 50% and 120% of the area median income.
The developer on the project is Gravel road Partners.
Innovare is already fully leased, many of the tenants formerly unhoused or at risk of homelessness. The affordable housing complex will also serve as the new headquarters for Volunteers of America Florida, the project developer whose mission is to help struggling individuals and families get back on their feet through programs aimed at personal healing and providing stable housing.
Both projects have received financial support from the city and county as part of the Advantage Pinellas Countywide Housing Compact, which prioritizes community projects that prioritize affordable housing through either rentals or home ownership.
The compact has been in place since 2018 and, according to its website, has helped thousands of individuals and families obtain affordable housing.
2 comments
Monday news
April 22, 2024 at 5:06 pm
I have a opinion so now it is free housing and larger pay for city only workers.they can flip the house for a million on who’s back?
Dont Say FLA
April 23, 2024 at 3:09 pm
Affordable housing? Great! But how will folks who can only afford affordable goods and services be able to pay for the property insurance their lender will require them to carry the financial burden of, and for the purpose of protecting the lender? Why don’t lenders get their own insurance on properties? OH- because Florida is “good for business” which means costs of doing business are externalized onto residents as much as can be gotten away with