An aerial view of the current site conditions at 11101 Roosevelt Boulevard North | Google EARTH

A major new affordable housing development could soon rise in north St. Petersburg.

Atlanta-based real estate developer Wood Partners is proposing a 381-unit multifamily apartment complex at 11101 Roosevelt Boulevard North.

According to documents recently submitted to the City of St. Petersburg, the five-story building, named Alta Roosevelt, is being reviewed under Florida’s Live Local Act, a 2023 state law designed to incentivize the construction of affordable and workforce housing.

The law allows residential developments to override local zoning restrictions such as height, density, and land use if at least 40% of units are set aside for households earning up to 120% of the Area Median Income (AMI) and those units remain affordable for at least 30 years.

The site is current home to an 164,919-square-foot office building that houses Bankers Financial Group | jll

In this case, 40% of the proposed 381 units, or about 152 apartments, would be designated as workforce housing under the act’s guidelines. The remainder would be rented at market rate.

The project site is zoned for Employment Centers (EC-1), which typically does not allow residential development. However, because of the Live Local Act’s preemptive provisions, the project is eligible to move forward without rezoning or a future land use change.

The site is current home to an 164,919-square-foot office building that houses Bankers Financial Group, which recently announced it was relocating its headquarters to downtown St. Pete. The property also features a surface parking lot and parking garage.

A site plan for the proposed development indicate the existing office building would be demolished.

The site plan for the proposed development | Gulf Coast Consulting

According to the plans, the development would utilize the existing parking garage with 519 spaces and add new surface parking to bring the total to 665 spaces, which is well above the 462 parking spaces required by the city.

About 70% of the units would be studios or one-bedroom apartments. Of the total 381 apartments, 267 will be studios or one-bedrooms, 104 will feature two bedrooms, and 10 will have three bedrooms.

Wood Partners, the developer behind the proposal, is one of the largest multifamily builders in the United States. Since its founding in 1998, the company has developed over 90,000 apartment units nationwide under its “Alta” and “Lynd” brand families. It has a strong presence in Florida and is known for constructing high-quality rental communities.

Locally, the company has developed several Alta-branded apartment communities including Alta Gateway, built in 2020; Alta Clearwater, built in 2021; and Alta Belleair, built in 2022. After completion, Wood Partners sold each community.

The property is located along Roosevelt Boulevard, a four-lane arterial road served by PSTA’s Route 4, which connects the Gateway area to downtown St. Pete. City transportation staff noted that the site has above-average access to transit, bike infrastructure, and walkability, and recommended coordinating with PSTA on possible bus stop improvements.

A traffic impact study found that Roosevelt Boulevard currently has adequate capacity to accommodate the estimated 149 peak-hour vehicle trips the development would generate.

This is one of several projects in St. Pete being proposed under the Live Local Act.

In April 2024, Houston-based Hanover Company filed plans for a 304-unit apartment community at 3100 22nd Avenue North. That project would include 196 one-bedroom and 108 two-bedroom units, with at least 40% of those being reserved for households earning up to 120% of AMI.

Pending final city approvals, Alta Roosevelt would deliver hundreds of new rental units to a growing part of St. Pete while addressing the city’s need for both market-rate and workforce housing.

A timeline for the development has not been announced.