ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — After more than two years of construction, the Butterfly Grove affordable housing project in St. Pete was unveiled to the public.
The project located on Grove Street in St. Petersburg is the latest to be completed by Pinellas County leaders in partnership with Boley Centers, Inc. The private, not-for-profit organization serves people who are homeless, with mental disabilities, veterans, and youth locally.
The more than $4 million project was made possible through county-wide and state funds, along with support from the City of St. Petersburg and the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development Continuum of Care.
"It is all those pieces coming together to make something like this happen and change the lives of people that have endured so much," CEO of Boley Centers, Kevin Marrone, said.
This month, the organization also unveiled another project dubbed the Evergreen Village at Pinellas Park. The project will house 41 individuals and families.
Butterfly Grove contains 20 one-bedroom apartment units to house people in need. Pinellas County states it has supported 978 affordable housing units that are either approved, under construction, or completed this year.
Dawn Kilgore, a resident at Butterfly Grove, said working with the organization has given her hope after being homeless for several years.
"They give with the heart," Kilgore said. "People with mental illness and homelessness need people that will give them hope. It's a rare commodity, but so much needed."
Kilgore said because she's able to have stable housing, she may now focus on pursuing a degree in social work in hopes she can help others with similar experiences like her.
"I have a place to call my own," Kilgore said. "I'm very blessed."
This was the organization's 39th project to date. Butterfly Grove was already helping people in need on-site since the mid 1990s but the buildings had grown outdated and rebuilt to their current conditions.
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