Housing affordability is one of the biggest discussions being had in St. Pete right now (especially given tomorrow’s mayoral election. Go vote!). Tackling the steep increase in the cost of housing is no easy task. It’s a complex issue with complicated solutions, and frankly a discussion that merits its own article. But to put it simply, we are experiencing a supply and demand issue right now. There are more people looking to live here and not enough houses for them to live in. That imbalance is pushing prices up.

The reality is that the market will never produce housing that is affordable to many low-income members of our community. For these families, housing must be subsidized in order for them to afford a place to live. And last Thursday, two new affordable housing developments inched closer to reality thanks to approvals from St. Pete City Council.

Green Mills Group has proposed Burlington Post II, an 8-story 76-unit development to be located on the 3200 block of Burlington Avenue North. The building would share a city block with Burlington Post I, a 5-story 86-unit affordable housing project for seniors that was completed in 2018. The developer also built Burlington Place, a 53-unit affordable housing community, at 3155 Burlington Avenue North in 2017.

The project has applied for an award of Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) through the Florida Housing Finance Corporation (FHFC). This program requires a City contribution, and so the development went before City Council requesting $75,000 in tax increment financing (TIF) from the South St. Petersburg Redevelopment Trust Fund. The request received unanimous approval.

“This is a very exciting project,” said Councilmember Gina Driscoll. “I’m thrilled to see that Green Mills is continuing to invest in high quality affordable residential units in St. Pete.”

The $13.8 million project will consist of 520-square-foot studio units, 600-square-foot one bed/one bath units, and 854-square-foot two bed/two bath units. Twelve of the units will serve households at 30% of the Area Median Income (AMI) which is also considered Extremely Low Income. Another forty-two units will serve households at 60% AMI or below, while fourteen units will serve households at 70% AMI. The remaining eight units will be set aside for households at 80% AMI or below.

Community amenities would include a clubroom, fitness center, library, game room, covered garage parking, and bike parking.

The second affordable housing community on last Thursday’s City Council agenda was Bear Creek Commons, a 4-story 85-unit apartment complex for seniors proposed for 635 64th Street South, which is currently home to Grace Connection Church.

The development drew attention in August 2020 when St. Pete City Council voted to rezone the land to allow multifamily housing. A group called Pasadena Gulfport St. Petersburg Neighbors United sent hundreds of postcards to council urging them to deny the rezoning citing “the proposed development was incompatible with the city’s comprehensive plan.” Council found no evidence to support the group’s claims and approved the request to rezone the property.

The development has been proposed by Blue Sky Communities, who is currently under construction on Skyway Lofts, a 65-unit affordable apartment complex in the Skyway Marina District of St. Pete.

The $20.5 million project would consist of 650-square-foot one bed/one bath units and 950-square-foot two bed/two bath units. Most of the units would be reserved for those making 60% AMI with a few units set aside for 30% AMI.

The developer intends on having an onsite health clinic for use by visiting doctors, a resident assurance check-in program, assistance with light housekeeping, grocery shopping and/or laundry, literacy training, and on-call 24/7 maintenance/security support.

Blue Sky requested a loan of $610,000 from the City of St. Pete as part of their application for the LIHTC program. Their request was unanimously approved by council.

Although both Burlington Post II and Bear Creek Commons are applying for the LIHTC program, it is unlikely that both will receive funding this year. The current round of funding will only be awarded to one development per county for each of the six counties of Broward, Duval, Hillsborough, Orange, Palm Beach and Pinellas. However, one development from the highest scoring unfunded applications from any of the six counties will also be funded.

The FHFC schedule indicates that it will request its Board to approve the final ranking of LIHTC funding applicants on December 10, 2021.

If Blue Sky does not receive funding through the LIHTC program they’ll be able to utilize the city’s $610,000 loan for Bear Creek Commons for the FHFC’s State Apartment Incentive Loan (SAIL) application which is due September 21st. The SAIL program provides low-interest loans to affordable housing developers.

Whether through the LIHTC program or another source, we are hopeful that both projects will receive the funding needed to move forward. In a growing, in-demand city like St. Pete, these affordable housing units could provide much needed relief to the 161 families that will occupy them.