Sixteenth Square Townhomes

Construction workers are building out the last remaining units of the bright blue and white townhomes lining the corner of 16th Avenue and 9th Street South.

The 11 units in the Sixteenth Square Townhomes development - outfitted with granite kitchen countertops, wood floors, and modern finishes - are all affordable homes for residents earning up to 100% of the Area Median Income (AMI). 

The $3 million-plus project developed by St. Petersburg-based homebuilder Namasté Homes first broke ground at 1523 Dr. MLK Jr. Street South in 2020.

One of the critiques of all of the housing developments being constructed in Downtown St. Pete is that much of it isn’t affordable for households making the area median income, which in St. Pete equates to about $58,000. With a few exceptions, most of the new residential units being built downtown are priced over $500,000, a figure that’s simply not attainable for many families.

The reason cheaper units aren’t being built isn’t because there’s not a market for them. There are a number of variables that go into pricing new residential units. Prices are largely a product of construction costs and land prices, among other factors. Since construction costs have increased nationally, as have land prices in Downtown St. Pete, this has led to increasing costs to build residential units in the downtown area.