Multiple affordable senior housing projects advance 

Local low-income seniors will soon have hundreds of new affordable housing options, with some units dedicated to households earning just 40% of the area median income.

The Pinellas County Housing Authority (PCHA) recently acquired an undeveloped parcel in northeast St. Petersburg that will house Flats on 4th, an 80-unit senior housing development. The first phase of an 80-unit redevelopment project in unincorporated Largo is nearing completion, and demolition on the second begins this week. 

Seniors typically rely on fixed incomes and are particularly susceptible to soaring costs. Neil Brickfield, executive director of PCHA, said the 240 in-progress units help ensure they “never have to worry about housing again.” 

“We got more coming,” Brickfield told the Catalyst. “We have another three projects in the next 90 days to close on.” 

Brickfield said the county has one of the state’s highest senior homelessness rates. Extensive public-private partnerships help ensure more elderly residents have a roof over their heads. 

Flats on 4th will house seniors earning between 40% and 60% of the area median income (AMI) at the southwest corner of 106th Avenue and 4th Street North in St. Petersburg. Brickfield credited the Pinellas County Housing Finance Authority for ensuring the $37.5 million project’s affordability by purchasing the property and placing it in a land trust. 

The city provided $4.39 million in pandemic-era American Rescue Plan Act funding. County officials contributed $2.9 million from Penny for Pinellas tax coffers to acquire the land. 

Orlando-based Archway Partners secured $6 million from the state and $1.45 million from the National Housing Trust Fund. Residents with housing vouchers will only pay about $500 monthly. 

Brickfield said you can “watch the stress leaving their body” when they move into an affordable home without the fear of rent hikes. “That’s a magic moment.” 

While construction is just beginning on Flats on 4th, PCHA will soon open Heritage Oaks. Newstar Development broke ground on the symbolic site at 12455 130th Ave. N. in May 2024. 

Heritage Oaks represents the first step in replacing the antiquated Rainbow Village project. Image: Newstar Development.

Heritage Oaks marks the first step in the county’s long-awaited redevelopment of Rainbow Village, which became PCHA’s first completed project in 1967. It previously consisted of shacks and shanties after Black citrus workers settled the Greater Ridgecrest area in the 1940s.

Each of the redevelopment’s four phases will replace substandard housing with 80 modern units capped at 60% of the AMI – roughly $45,000 for a two-person household. Brickfield said Heritage Oaks is about 60 days ahead of schedule.

Demolition on the neighboring property that will become Ridgecrest Oaks begins this week.“The ultimate goal is to house 80-plus seniors, where they never have to worry about housing again,” Brickfield said. “To get there, we’d like to use the same crews twice.” 

The previously estimated $29 million Heritage Oaks project received $3.36 million from the county. The housing finance authority, Raymond James Financial, the Florida Housing Corporation and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) also partnered on the project. 

“If you’re a senior, it’s not like you can go out and get a better job – it’s the income stream you have today,” Brickfield said. “The market has moved so fast and so much that they just can’t keep up any more.” 

He also noted that moving is a daunting proposition at any age. “Imagine doing that when you’re 80,” Brickfield said. 

He explained that financing the land acquisition reduces construction costs, which enables lower monthly rents. Brickfield also celebrated federal officials not cutting funding for housing choice vouchers. 

Project-based vouchers ensure a developer has a guaranteed rental stream for 20 years. Individual recipients will not spend over 30% of their income on housing. 

Brickfield said someone earning about 50% of the AMI would pay roughly $500 for a $1,700 apartment with a voucher. The program makes attainable housing “accessible for a lot more people.” 

Brickfield thanked development partners for helping his organization meet its mission to provide quality, affordable housing and improve the lives of area residents. “And the Pinellas County Housing Authority is open for business,” he said. 

“The thing about a mission statement is that it’s easier to write than to live up to it,” Brickfield added. “We work really hard on that.”

Neil Brickfield (second from right), executive director of the Pinellas County Housing Authority, and other public-private partners ceremoniously break ground on Heritage Oaks in May 2024. Photo by Mark Parker.