Pinellas Park sees an apartment boom

A 349-unit multifamily development under construction in Pinellas Park is one of several new housing options coming to the city.

As many as 1,000 apartment units have recently been built or are planned, many of them with an affordable housing component, said Shannon Coughlin, economic development manager for the city of Pinellas Park.

The latest to be announced is the apartment project at 7950 Park Blvd. that’s being built by LIV Development, a Birmingham, Alabama-based company. Park Boulevard Residences LLC, an entity associated with LIV Development, paid $9.2 million for the 19.7-acre site on Sept. 16, Pinellas County property records show.

LIV recently broke ground and expects the first units to come on line in the fourth quarter of 2021.

The seller was Huntley Properties LLC. Nancy Surak, senior land advisor and managing broker for Land Advisors Organization Tampa Bay, represented Huntley Properties in the deal.

“Outside of downtown St. Petersburg, Pinellas County is significantly under-supplied for new residential housing. This project will deliver much-needed new, high-quality housing in the heart of Pinellas Park,” Surak said in a news release. “Multifamily housing adds to the diversity of housing stock for current and new residents and we are excited about being involved in this project.”

The property originally was outside of the Pinellas Park city limits, but the city worked with neighbors over about a year to bring the site into the city boundaries, Coughlin said.

The project is important to the city because of the number of housing units it will provide, the jobs that will come with construction and the overall economic impact, Coughlin said.

The city waived some land development fees, including plan reviews and inspection permits, for the project.

“When we have the housing it helps draw businesses, because we have the employees for those jobs,” she said.

Another project under construction in Pinellas Park is the largest development to date by Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas and West Pasco Counties. Fifty single-family homes are being built, east of 68^th Street North between 62^nd Avenue and 64^th Avenue North. The project could eventually grow to 75 homes, Coughlin said.

She also worked with the Pinellas County Housing Authority and its developer on submitting an application to the state for affordable housing credits for a project on Pinellas Park’s former public works property at 6200 78^th Ave. N. That would have about 85 units for seniors.

Pinellas County is providing $1.25 million in construction financing for Palmetto Pointe, an 82-unit apartment development at 8011 49^th St. N. in Pinellas Park. The county also provided $937,136 in acquisition and construction financing for an eight-unit housing development at 6506 96^th Ave. N. in Pinellas Park. Both of those developments are affordable housing projects, according to a recent report by ABC Action News.

A larger, market-rate project was The Allure at Gateway at 8851 U.S. Highway 19 N. in Pinellas Park. It opened a year ago and recently sold to General Services Corp.