St. Pete homeless housing development needs more time

A St. Petersburg development that prioritizes residents who are homeless, disabled or domestic abuse survivors over money is at risk of losing city funding.

City council members will decide Nov. 6 whether or not to amend a funding agreement with St. Vincent de Paul CARES (SVdP). The nonprofit needs another year to complete construction on Vincentian Village. 

SVdP received $1 million from the city in October 2022 to help fund the previously estimated $28 million project. Construction began in April 2024 and was supposed to conclude today. 

However, a series of unforeseen issues and an unprecedented hurricane season have significantly impeded progress. SVdP and Ability Housing, a nonprofit affordable housing developer, are now asking the city to extend construction and leasing deadlines by a year. 

Once complete, Vincentian Village will offer 73 apartments for households earning up to 60% of the area median income. However, SVdP CEO Michael Raposa previously told the Catalyst that clients, rather than money, are the organization’s “first concern.” 

“Income will not be a barrier to get in there,” Raposa pledged in August 2024. “We only charge 30% of a person’s income. In instances where income is zero, it’s still 30% of zero – which is zero.” 

Vincentian Village is at 401 13th St. N., near downtown and Historic Uptown, and will provide 50 one-bedroom and 23 two-bedroom apartments. The developers, Ability SVdP, will dedicate 37 units to residents who are, or are at risk of, becoming homeless. 

The remaining 11 units are for households that require “special support,” including those with disabilities and domestic violence survivors. Vincentian Village is less than a quarter mile from the SVdP CARES shelter, and residents can easily access individualized and community-based wraparound services. 

Raposa, in a statement on the nonprofit’s website, noted that the team at St. Vincent de Paul CARES “continues to work daily to end homelessness and change the trajectory of the lives we touch.” The organization has served “over five households per workday” this year. 

“As economic pressures and weather events impacted the people entrusted to our care, we served at unprecedented levels across all programs.”

Those weather events have impacted construction. City documents state that the issues began shortly after Vincentian Village broke ground. 

Construction crews encountered buried fiber optic cables “so large they had to be uncovered and encased to provide structural integrity.” The process also required the “rerouting of power” throughout the entire 2.2-acre site. 

Hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton also delayed construction, as did Duke Energy’s capacity to reroute electricity as the utility focused on emergency storm repairs. In April, the nonprofits asked the Florida Housing Finance Corporation (FHFC) to extend its “placed in service” deadline until Dec. 31, 2026. 

Ability SVdP now needs St. Petersburg to extend its construction deadline to Oct. 31, 2026, and its leasing deadline for “three city units” to Dec. 31, 2026. Mayor Ken Welch’s administration recommends approval. 

Ability SVdP has also requested an additional year to provide a Rental Project Compliance Report, initially due by Jan. 31, 2026. Council members are likely to grant the approvals. 

Construction issues began piling up shortly after this photo was taken in August 2024. Image provided.

The city awarded $2.5 million to SVdP in March 2022, seven months before allocating Vincentian Village funding, to create scattered shelter sites. Council Chair Copley Gerdes said it “makes my heart happy to vote on something” that would make an immediate impact. 

“I’ve had the opportunity to work and volunteer with St. Vincent de Paul in the past, and I just wanted to publicly thank them for stepping up and getting this done,” Gerdes said at the time.

St. Petersburg’s $1 million subsidy stems from pandemic-era American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding. Officials cannot offer another extension; the U.S. Department of Treasury requires local governments to expend those grants by Dec. 31, 2026. 

SVdP selected Vincentian Village’s site due to its proximity to the shelter, public transportation, healthcare services, employment opportunities and workforce training facilities. Shannon Nazworth, CEO of Jacksonville-based Ability Housing, previously said units would remain affordable “in perpetuity, even long after any kind of restrictions from funding sources.” 

Raposa previously noted that many residents would rely on fixed incomes. Those receiving $900 monthly would pay $300 in rent. 

Nazworth said Ability only works in areas with local leaders who embrace affordable housing projects and best practices to mitigate homelessness. “And that’s why St. Petersburg was definitely something we were interested in.”