ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The area surrounding Tangerine Plaza has seen its fair share of ups and downs, but demand for affordable housing might be a catalyst for reviving the area.
It has been a food desert after Sweetbay and a Walmart Neighborhood Market closed up shop several years ago. While Sugar Hill Group is working with the city to lure some new tenants to Tangerine Plaza, another developer just put in an unsolicited proposal to buy or lease some city property to build some affordable housing across the street on 18th Ave. S.
Green Mills Group along with the non-profit Advantage Village Academy have teamed up to propose a 96-unit 5-story project. All the units would be offered to those making at or below 80 percent of the area median income. Here’s the 2021 breakdown from the city on how that’s determined.
Green Mills also owns a couple of other affordable housing projects in St. Pete in the Kenwood neighborhood. The developer says the city would potentially have to sign off on increasing the density zoning for the property and possibly the category which is commercial.
Before this can be considered, other developers have the chance to also make a proposal for the property by Feb. 16. St. Petersburg spokesperson Janelle I. Taylor says increasing affordable housing is a top priority, and after the proposal window closes, Mayor Ken Welch will evaluate the proposals and see if it’s appropriate to move forward with the city council’s approval.