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 5.9 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). When both projects are complete, the site will have 408 apartments.

Allora was originally approved for 336 units, consisting of 240 units in the first phase and 96 units in a planned second phase. The second phase is now being sold to Southport for the development of Largo Station, which will include 168 units. Because the updated plan increases the number of units, Southport is required to obtain site plan approval again.

A map of the 15.5-acre property at 800 8th Avenue Southeast | GOOGLE EARTH

Belleair Development Group purchased the property from Genesis Communications of Tampa Bay in December 2023 for $3.1 million. Earlier this year, Belleair sold 9.6 acres of the site to Trammell Crow for $7 million for Allora.

SP Ridge Apartments LLC, an entity related to Southport, is under contract to purchase the western 5.9 acres from Belleair Development Group. The purchase price has not been disclosed.

“Although these are two separate projects, they are both bringing much-needed affordable housing in the community supported by the county and city,” said Christian Yepes, landowner and principal of Pinellas Park-based Belleair Development Group.

The proposed site plan shows two five-story apartment buildings with 60 units each, a four-story building with 48 units, a clubhouse, an amenity structure, and 208 surface parking spaces.

A site map of Largo station | Moore bass consulting

The community would also include stormwater ponds, a 10-foot landscape buffer, a sidewalk around the largest pond, and a connection to a multi-use path on 8th Avenue.

The property is zoned Industrial Limited (IL) under Largo’s Future Land Use map, but following the same process as Allora, the development team is using the newly passed Live Local Act for approval.

The Live Local Act is part of a statewide housing strategy aimed at increasing the supply of affordable and workforce housing.

It allows developers to bypass certain local approvals by mandating that local governments authorize multifamily rentals on sites zoned for mixed-use, commercial, or industrial use, provided that at least 40% of the units are reserved for households earning at or below 120% of the area median income for a minimum of 30 years.

A conceptual rendering of Allora | Trammell Crow residential

While Allora was the first project filed under the Live Local Act in Largo, other Live Local Act projects in the city include Bayside, a 376-unit development with apartments and townhomes planned for the Empath Health campus on Roosevelt Boulevard.

Largo Station will be required to set aside at least 40% of its 168 units for affordable housing, though the exact income-level mix has not been disclosed. The remaining 60% of units will be market rate apartments.

Project plans and additional details will be presented at a neighborhood meeting on September 24th at 6 p.m. at Largo City Hall, where residents can ask questions and provide feedback to city staff and the developer. The neighborhood meeting is a required step in the planning process.

A construction timeline for Largo Station has not been announced.