Officials unveil south St. Pete affordable housing incentives

At its June 5 meeting, the St. Petersburg City Council approved amendments to the South St. Pete Community Redevelopment Area (CRA)’s Affordable Housing Redevelopment Loan program.

The Affordable Housing Redevelopment Loan program was established to create affordable single family and multi-family homes in the South St. Pete CRA.

This area has been prioritized by the City to develop housing and neighborhoods for residents.

The amendments proposed included programs for single family homes, multi-family homes and affordable accessory dwelling units (ADUs).

Dr. Avery Slyker, City of St. Petersburg Housing and Community Development Director, outlined the programs to council members.

For single family housing development, the City will implement a land acquisition reimbursement as well as developer incentives.

Developers can receive reimbursement for half of its land acquisition costs up to $40,000 if they construct or renovate an affordable single family home on the land and sell it to a first time qualified buyer with an income 80% of the area median income (AMI) or below. The construction or renovations cost must be at least $100,000.

They can also receive a $10,000 incentive if they construct or renovate an affordable single family home and sell it to a first time qualified buyer with an income 120% of AMI or below. The construction/renovation must cost at least $100,000.

Developers can be awarded with an additional $5,000 incentive if they sell the home to a person who meets all the incentive qualifications and is also a resident renter in the South St. Pete CRA at the time of closing the sale.

For multi-family housing, programs will be offered depending on available funding, Slyker said.

“The City is going to review completed applications, they’re going to then recommend funding only once it has been reviewed and approved by the Citizen Advisory Council,” she explained.

Funding could be based on the number of units, the affordability of each unit, security and maintenance, and other metrics. 

The City is also planning on providing incentives for the new construction of ADUs.

ADUs are independent living units near a single family home, according to the American Planning Association. For example, garage apartments or guest houses.

Property owners can receive an incentive payment up to 40% of construction costs if they build a new ADU on their land. The owner’s share of the cost must be $10,000 or more. There’s no maximum incentive, but awards over $100,000 must be approved by the City Council.

To participate in the ADU program, property owners must sign a funding agreement promising that the new ADU remains affordable.

Once Slyker concluded her presentation, council members talked about the proposed amendments.

Slyker mentioned that a considerable amount of family members and neighbors are building ADUs on their properties to help loved ones and friends find an affordable space to live in.

“We thought they really want to spread this joy and spread the affordable housing, we don’t want to put a limit out there yet, let’s see how this goes first.”

Council member Mike Harting said he would vote for the amendments and appreciates what they will do for residents, but believes the ADU program is “a lot of city eggs to put in one basket.”

He suggested that the Council revisit the ADU program in the future to evaluate its success and overall cost.

Council member Gina Driscoll said she saw the amendments as a continuous, future-minded investment.