The Innovation District, a 560-acre neighborhood on the southeastern edge of downtown St. Pete, is putting the final touches on a new master plan outlining a long-term vision for growth, including possible zoning updates that could lead to larger mixed-use developments.
The plan, which was presented during an open house on Wednesday night, is meant to be a flexible, long-term framework rather than a rigid set of instructions.
Developed in partnership with the City of St. Pete and Kimley-Horn, the plan emphasizes expanded waterfront access, climate resilience, mixed-use development, and stronger connections to downtown and surrounding neighborhoods.
First established in 2016, the Innovation District has become a hub for marine science, healthcare, research, and technology anchored by major institutions including the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, Orlando Health Bayfront Hospital, Port St. Pete, and Albert Whitted Airport.
As the Skyway Marina District continues to grow, a local developer is bringing more affordable housing to the neighborhood.
Tampa-based affordable housing developer Blue Sky Communities has completed the second phase of SkyWay Lofts, adding 66 new apartments to the 1.19-acre property at 3800 34th Street South.
The new, four-story building is reserved for residents earning between 22% and 80% of the area median income (AMI), or roughly $16,000 to $58,000 per year for a one-person household. Notably, the monthly rent starts at $305 for a one-bedroom and one-bathroom unit.
The building is already at full occupancy with a waitlist available for applicants.
“Thanks to the City of St. Petersburg, the Skyway Marina District has been transformed into one of the premier neighborhoods of our city,” Scott Macdonald, Executive Vice President and Partner of Blue Sky Communities, said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday.
The Rainbow Village neighborhood in Largo’s Greater Ridgecrest community marked a major milestone Thursday morning with the ribbon cutting of Heritage Oaks, the first of four phases planned for the Rainbow Village redevelopment.
Officials from the Pinellas County Housing Authority and Newstar Development joined residents and elected leaders to celebrate the opening of the 80-unit affordable senior apartment community at 13060 Washington Drive in Largo.
“I remember looking at the master plan for Rainbow Village from 2007,” said Neil Brickfield, executive director of the Pinellas County Housing Authority, during the ceremony. “Here we are 18 years later, about to cut the ribbon.”
Heritage Oaks replaces 48 aging, block-style duplex and triplex units.
The new three-story apartment building contains 74 one-bed, one-bath units and six two-bed, two-bath units. The community includes 70 parking spaces.
All apartments are reserved for seniors earning up to 60% of the area median income (AMI), with monthly rents starting at $1,507.
After decades of Sunday services, a 75-year-old church on the southern edge of the Euclid St. Paul’s neighborhood is preparing to take on a new role in the neighborhood by becoming housing for local residents.
The former Pinellas Vietnamese Church of the Nazarene, located at 1225 9th Avenue North, will be adaptively reused into 20 workforce housing apartments.
The project is being led by local property owners and real estate investors Joshua and Danielle Neitz, who purchased the church and its adjacent parking lot for $1.325 million in February.
“My wife was a teacher for many years, and all of our friends were middle-class people trying to earn a living and stay in the area,” Joshua Neitz said in a conversation with St. Pete Rising. “We need more options to make life a little more affordable for residents.”
In October, the church was added to the St. Petersburg Register of Historic Places, protecting the building from demolition while allowing for adaptive reuse under the city’s code.
After nearly four years of planning, a long-delayed affordable housing development near St. Petersburg’s Warehouse Arts District is officially moving forward.
Fairfield Avenue Apartments LLC, which is tied to St. Petersburg-based HP Capital Group and former Florida Senator Jeff Brandes, has purchased the 6.9-acre property at 3300 Fairfield Avenue South for approximately $6.2 million.
The property will be leased through a trust administered by the Housing Finance Authority of Pinellas County, securing a 99-year affordability commitment.
The group will develop the site into the Fairfield Avenue Apartments, which will contain 264 affordable and workforce apartments making it one of the city’s largest housing communities in decades.
The property was formerly home to the Tibbetts Lumber Company, which was founded by Brandes’ grandfather, Linton Tibbetts, in the 1970s.
The City of St. Pete has become the first municipality in Florida to adopt a provision into its City Code allowing affordable housing to be built on land owned by religious institutions regardless of underlying zoning, following the passage of a new state law earlier this year.
While the Florida Senate Bill 1730, often referred to as “Yes In God’s Backyard” or YIGBY, gives cities the option to allow affordable housing on faith-owned land, it does not require them to do so.
St. Pete’s new provision turns the state statute into a clear and usable local process.
Many congregations own property that is no longer fully used for worship or parking but was historically difficult to redevelop because it is zoned institutional or public use rather than residential.
Before SB 1730, affordable housing could be built on church land only if a city approved a rezoning, conditional use, or comprehensive plan amendment.
What would you create with 28 acres of land in St Pete? A park? An amphitheater? Attainable housing? Artist studios?
Those questions were at the center of a recent four-day community charrette that began to shape the future of a large industrial property along the Pinellas Trail, home to St. Petersburg Distillery and several vacant buildings.
The 28-acre site at 800 31st Street South, located west of the Warehouse Arts District and across from Gibbs High School, is owned by the Iafrate family and is envisioned as a new Creators District.
A long-awaited residential redevelopment on the west side of Mirror Lake in downtown St. Pete is finally making progress, more than two years after the project was first awarded.
Pinellas County Schools’ 1.36-acre property, located at 296 Mirror Lake Drive and home to the 101-year-old Tomlinson building, is now one step closer to being redeveloped as the development team has submitted plans to the city for site plan approval.
What was once planned as a mix of affordable and market-rate apartments will now be an entirely affordable community, with priority given to Pinellas County Schools faculty and staff.
All 202 units in the updated plan will be income-restricted, with some reserved for households earning up to 60% of Area Median Income (AMI) and the rest at 110% AMI.
The Tomlinson building was originally built in 1924 as St. Petersburg Junior High School. It later became the Edwin H. Tomlinson Vocational School before transitioning into the Tomlinson Adult Learning Center in 1978.
Red Apple Real Estate, the New York–based development firm behind the 46-story Residences at 400 Central in downtown St. Petersburg, has expressed interest in redeveloping the 86-acre Historic Gas Plant District. But only if the city allows more time for proposals.
In a letter sent November 7th to Mayor Ken Welch and City Council, Red Apple CEO John Catsimatidis urged the city to extend its planned 30-day window for alternative submissions related to the site.
Earlier this month, Mayor Welch announced that he would open a brief period in mid-November for developers to submit competing proposals after the city received an unsolicited $6.8 billion plan led by Casey Ellison of Ellison Companies, Cathie Wood of ARK Invest, and Jonathan Graham of Horus Construction.
“Red Apple Real Estate is well-positioned to transform the 86 acres into what I call a ‘wow’ development,” Catsimatidis wrote, adding that his firm has the “knowledge, expertise, and relationships” to create market-rate and affordable housing, along with amenities that enhance quality of life and create jobs.
After years of promises to revive 22nd Street South, the City of St. Pete is finally making progress on projects expected to bring new life back to The Deuces.
From the 1940s through the 1960s, 22nd Street South, from 2nd Avenue to 18th Avenue, was the heart of St. Pete’s Black community, filled with thriving businesses, music clubs, and restaurants.
But after I-275 cut through the area in the mid 1970s, the busy corridor slowly fell into decline.
Now, with a growing pipeline of new developments on the horizon, the Deuces is beginning to show signs of revival.
At a community meeting this week at the Enoch Davis Center, city officials gave updates on several ongoing projects.
A vacant 1.16-acre site near Bartlett Park in south St. Pete could soon become an 82-unit affordable housing community.
The $33 million development, called Wimbish Court, has been proposed by Orlando-based Archway Partners for 2025 Dr. M.L.K. Jr. Street South.
Archway is under contract to purchase the property for $1.875 million, but the project will only move forward if it secures 9% Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), according to Paul Nudelman, Development Partner at Archway Partners.
The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program is a federal tax incentive created by Congress in 1986 to encourage private developers to build affordable housing.
The City of St. Pete has received another offer to redevelop part of the Historic Gas Plant District in downtown St. Pete.
The Pinellas County Housing Authority (PCHA) has submitted an unsolicited proposal to purchase and redevelop a city-owned parking lot at 1659 3rd Avenue South into an 80-unit affordable housing building for seniors.
In 2023, the Rays and Hines submitted a nearly identical proposal for the same site.
The property, which sits adjacent to the recently completed Modera St. Petersburg apartment tower, has been historically used as parking for Tampa Bay Rays games.
In an October 8th offer letter to the city, PCHA Executive Director Neil Brickfield detailed plans for a seven-story building designed by St. Pete-based Storyn Studio for Architecture in partnership with local developer Ascension Real Estate Partners.
The proposal calls for the City to convey the land to PCHA so it can utilize the Affordable Housing Voucher Program to ensure long-term affordability.
An eight-acre property in Largo once home to the American Collegiate Academy will soon be redeveloped into an affordable housing community.
Earlier this month, Habitat for Humanity of Tampa Bay Gulfside purchased the site at 833 Wyatt Street for $4.75 million, with plans to construct 100 affordable townhomes.
The seller, American Collegiate Academy, purchased the site from the First Assembly of God of Clearwater for $2 million in 2019.
The property, which currently features 17 classrooms and a 900-seat auditorium, will be demolished to make way for the project.
Mayor Ken Welch has selected Green Mills Group, a South Florida-based affordable housing developer, to redevelop a historically significant city-owned property at 951 22nd Street South.
The selection follows a Request for Proposals (RFP) process that launched in August 2024, which drew three submissions from Green Mills Group, Tall Cotton, and Alexander Goshen/Goode Van Slyke Architecture.
Under Green Mills’ proposal, the vacant 0.68-acre site would be transformed into a $20 million mixed-use development, called Heritage Grove, featuring 54 affordable apartments and 2,500 square feet of ground-floor retail space.
City Council is expected to vote on a negotiated ground lease and development agreement next Thursday, October 16th.
Vertical construction has commenced on the first phase of apartments at Sky Town, a planned $800 million mixed-use development at 3201 34th Street South in the Skyway Marina District.
The 34.3-acre site, once home to the Ceridian office campus, is being redeveloped in six phases to include 2,084 apartments, 69,000 square feet of retail anchored by a 23,000-square-foot Sprouts Farmers Market, and 120,000 square feet of self-storage.
It is the largest project currently in development in St. Pete, based on acreage and number of units.
The Sprouts Farmers Market, now nearing completion, sits along the east side of the property and will serve as the gateway to the future redevelopment. A 4,500-square-foot retail outparcel fronting 34th Street South is also under construction.
Just before Labor Day weekend, local government officials and community leaders gathered in south St. Pete to cut the ribbon on the city’s newest affordable housing development.
Founders Point, a 15-unit apartment community at 2901 31st Street South near the Skyway Marina District, was developed by Pinellas Affordable Living Inc. (PAL), a Community Housing Development Organization formed by the Boley Centers.
The community, designed to provide safe and affordable housing for people with special needs, is located next to Boyd Hill Nature Preserve and just south of The Shores Apartments, a 50-unit affordable housing community developed by The Richman Group.
All 15 one-bedroom apartments are reserved for residents earning at or below 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI), specifically for households with special needs.
Nearly six acres of underutilized land in St. Pete’s Lealman neighborhood is set to be transformed into a new affordable housing community.
Habitat for Humanity Tampa Bay Gulfside is expected to break ground by the end of the year on a project that will bring 57 new homes to families in need.
Located across from Lealman Elementary School at the corner of 58th Avenue North and 40th Street North, the new community will feature 31 single-family homes and 26 townhomes.
The townhomes will rise on a 1.74-acre parcel at 4000 58th Avenue North, while the single-family homes will be constructed on surrounding land.
The Housing Finance Authority of Pinellas County acquired the properties in 2016.
A new apartment community is being proposed in Largo where a small, 23-unit mobile home park once operated.
Developer Gary Tave of Square Peg Development LLC has submitted plans to the City of Largo to redevelop a 1.85-acre site at 621 Stremma Road into The Park Vista Apartments, a 74-unit apartment building featuring a mix of studio, one-, and two-bedroom residences, each with private balconies.
The site was formerly home to the Louis Palms Mobile Home Park, where the vacant structures are getting ready to be cleared to make way for new construction.
The new community will include a mix of market-rate and affordable units.
The long-awaited redevelopment of Tangerine Plaza in South St. Pete is finally starting to move forward, bringing hope for two things Midtown residents have been lacking for years: affordable housing and a grocery store.
The City of St. Pete recently approved a plan to redevelop the 3.6-acre city-owned site at 1794 22nd Street South into a mixed-use project with 186 income-restricted apartments and 10,000 square feet of commercial space, which will include a grocery store.
The approval came under Florida’s Live Local Act, which requires cities to sign off on qualifying affordable housing projects without a public hearing or appeal process.
The redevelopment is being led by the Sugar Hill Group, which includes Rev. Louis Murphy Sr. of Mount Zion Progressive Missionary Baptist Church, Roy Binger of Binger Financial Services, and Oliver Gross of New Urban Development.
A 168-unit affordable apartment community is planned for a portion of a 15.5-acre property in Largo, adjacent to another affordable housing project already underway on the site.
Tampa-based Southport Financial Services, working with Moore Bass Consulting, is seeking site plan approval from the City of Largo to build the complex at 800 8th Avenue Southeast, on the corner of 8th Avenue SE and Donegan Road.
The project, called Largo Station, would be built on 5.7 acres on the western portion of the property next to Allora, a 240-unit apartment community being developed by global real estate firm Trammell Crow Residential (TCR). The remainder of the property is occupied by Allora’s first phase. When both phases are complete, the site will have 408 apartments.
Vacant land next to Palm Lake Christian Church in St. Pete’s Disston Heights neighborhood will be developed into an 86-unit affordable housing community restricted to low-income households.
Tampa-based Newstar Development recently announced the full execution of a land lease agreement between the church, the Pinellas County Housing Authority (PCHA), and Newstar itself.
Construction also recently commenced on the project, known as Palm Lake Urban Sanctuary, or PLUS, located at 5401 22nd Avenue North.
The development will include a four-story building with 86 units, all reserved for households earning up to 80% of the area median income (AMI).
Specifically, the breakdown includes 13 units reserved for households earning 30% AMI, 14 units for 50% AMI, 42 units for 60% AMI, and 17 units for 80% AMI.
Houston-based The Hanover Company, a private real estate developer, has purchased a retail plaza that is expected to be redeveloped into a 304-unit affordable housing community.
The group has acquired the 8.95-acre site at 3100 22nd Avenue North in North Kenwood for $16.5 million from ZSPR PROPCO of Tampa LLC, according to a deed recorded on August 4th. The existing 71,064-square-foot retail plaza previously housed JB Factory Flooring, Studio Physique, and a MetroPCS store.
The Hanover Company also took out a $46.92 million loan from Texas-based Comica Bank.
The company’s redevelopment plans, which were filed in 2024, represented the first Live Local Act application received by the City of St. Petersburg.
Houston-based real estate developer The Hanover Company has submitted plans for a new 384-unit apartment community with affordable housing in Pinellas Park.
The project would be built on a vacant 24.31-acre site near the intersection of Gateway Centre Boulevard and US 19, within the Gateway Centre Business Park.
Because the property is zoned Light Industrial, The Hanover Company plans to move forward under the Live Local Act, which overrides certain local zoning restrictions and permits residential development on land zoned for commercial or industrial use.
The St. Petersburg Housing Authority (SPHA) is expected to begin construction on the second phase of an extensive renovation to the former Edward White Hospital, converting the building into a 71-unit affordable housing complex for seniors, thanks to recently approved funding.
Last Thursday, the St. Petersburg City Council approved $8.9 million in funding for the $42.5 million project underway at 2323 9th Avenue North in North Kenwood.
The funding includes $6.9 million from Penny for Pinellas, of which $3 million was previously approved, and $2 million in HOME funds.
In 2022, the project was awarded $5.9 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding, however those funds were rescinded in 2024 citing extensive project delays and reallocated to two other affordable housing projects—Flats on 4th and Palm Lake Urban Sanctuary.
After years of planning, an affordable townhome community is advancing with the help of newly approved funding.
At a Thursday meeting, the St. Petersburg City Council unanimously approved $2.18 million in funding for Habitat for Humanity of Tampa Bay Gulfside to build Pelican Place, a 40-unit affordable townhome community at 2100 18th Avenue South.
The funding is coming from previously allocated Tax Increment Financing (TIF) dollars from the South St. Petersburg Redevelopment District Fund.
The property, valued at $1.43 million and located across from Tangerine Plaza, was sold to Habitat for Humanity for $10, bringing the city’s total financial commitment to over $3.6 million for the project, or $90,000 per unit.
Four development teams have responded to the city’s request for proposals (RFP) to build affordable housing on a city-owned property in west St. Pete.
The city has released the four proposals it received in response to a reissued RFP to redevelop a 5.24-acre property at 7045 Burlington Avenue North.
The City purchased the site from St. Petersburg College in 2024 for $4.2 million. It currently features a two-story building on the south end that formerly housed the college’s Gibbs Wellness Center, while the north end remains vacant.
The respondents include local developer HP Capital Group in partnership with national homebuilder D.R. Horton; joint venture partners Habitat for Humanity Gulfside and homebuilder Namasté Homes; Tampa-based homebuilder Ramos Development LLC in partnership with Land Advisors Organization and technology-forward homebuilder ONX Homes; and affordable housing homebuilder McDowell Housing Partners LLC.
A South Carolina developer is planning to transform the 21.8-acre Empath Health campus in Largo into a large-scale residential community that includes affordable housing made possible by Florida’s Live Local Act.
Greystar Real Estate Partners, currently under contract to purchase the property at 5771 Roosevelt Boulevard, has proposed a 376-unit development consisting of apartments and townhomes. Of those, 150 units will be reserved as affordable housing.
The planned community, named Bayside, will include an ample amount of green space featuring gravel paths, gardens, sports areas for families, two dog parks, playgrounds, a potential putting green, a shaded hammock area, a walking trail around a large stormwater pond.
One year ago, city leaders and a local developer broke ground on a transformational project in south St. Pete that aimed to create more housing opportunities for teachers and faculty. Today, the community has officially opened.
The new 60-unit apartment community, Bayou Court Apartments, is located near the southeast corner of Lake Maggiore at 4201 6th Street South, directly behind Lakewood Elementary School.
The project, which recently welcomed its first residents, was made possible through a public-private collaboration between the City of St. Petersburg, Pinellas County, and Gravel Road Partners, a Washington D.C.-based workforce and affordable housing developer that acquired the property in 2022 for $1.7 million.
An undeveloped parcel at the southwest corner of the intersection of 106th Avenue North and 4th Street North will be developed into 80 affordable apartments reserved for seniors.
The project, dubbed Flats on 4th—a previously approved four-story mid-rise building designed for low-income seniors earning between 40% and 60% of the area median income (AMI).
The Pinellas County Housing Finance Authority purchased the land for the project earlier this month, as Trustee of the land trust, for $2.94 million using Penny for Pinellas funds, a voter-approved one-cent sales tax designated for infrastructure improvements.
Construction is officially underway on one of St. Petersburg’s largest workforce and affordable housing developments.
On Wednesday morning, St. Pete-based HP Capital Group joined city and county officials, community partners, and stakeholders to celebrate the groundbreaking of Fairfield Avenue Apartments, a 264-unit apartment community at 3300 Fairfield Avenue South.
The development will serve individuals and families earning between 50% and 120% of the Area Median Income (AMI), a range that developers and officials say is increasingly difficult to accommodate in today’s housing market.