Florida Construction News staff writer
St. Petersburg will expand its 10-year Housing Opportunities for All Plan to include support for renters, plans, financial assistance for residents to preserve existing affordable housing and make properties livable for longer, and incentives and strategic funding to build more affordable units.
“Housing Opportunities for All is the foundation for our work to provide thousands of units of affordable housing for individuals and families,” said Mayor Ken Welch. “We have allocated more than $40 million dollars this fiscal year to build new affordable housing units; we have strengthened our partnerships with county leaders, local developers, and non-profits; and we have implemented powerful protections for renters with our Tenant Bill of Rights.”
Three years into the plan, the city has increased the number of expected new units by more than 1,000 units. The plan now has an additional 1,050 affordable housing units making the updated total nearly 8,000 affordable housing units.
“Better housing opportunities for all raises the level of daily living and pride among residents, creates strong neighborhoods and intentional equity, and creates a community—not just a place to eat and sleep,” said Amy Foster, community and neighborhood affairs administrator.
Officials say the city will continue a “deliberate push for new, multi-million dollar funding sources”, a critical requirement to further increase affordable housing supply.
“Working together and listening to each other, while continuing our focus on partnerships and innovation, we will continue to work for impactful progress on the critical issue of affordable housing. It is critical for our economy and the quality of life for all residents in St. Petersburg,” Welch said.
Highlights include:
- expansion of the rebate for residential rehab program to be available city-wide in 2023.
- launch of the Replacement Housing Program which assists senior citizens who have lived in their homes for a long period of time, but don’t have the income to make necessary repairs.
- expansion of the zoning requirements to allow more neighborhoods to build accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and create 400+ units of additional housing
- guidelines for the use of $15 million in Penny for Pinellas funding to assist developers in acquiring land to develop affordable housing.
The new NTM-1 zoning category to allow a variety of housing types with up to 4 units on a standard lot along the city’s major corridors.
To view the full plan, visit http://www.stpete.org/affordablehousing.