ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — More than a dozen families in St. Petersburg will now have a safe and affordable place to call home, the latest addition as the city strives to reach a goal aimed at alleviating the crisis.
On Friday, city, county and development leaders cut the ribbon to the Whispering Pines Apartment Complex on 54th Avenue S.
The project, led by Boley Centers and funded through their organization, the state, city and county, includes support services and 20 units reserved for families earning less than 60% of the Area Median Income. 80% of the units will be reserved for people who have experienced homelessness.
“This is very, vital for the community. I really believe It,” said Vonetta Raines, one of the new tenants, adding that it gives her a new lease on life.
“I have been homeless for years, in and out of shelters, in and out of mental hospitals. And so being able to live here at Boley, it's amazing. It's a foundation where I can build on. I don't have to worry about being homeless,” Raines explained, saying she can now focus on school.
Housing Opportunities for All is one of the pillars of St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch’s administration and moments like Friday, when he toured some of the new homes, keeps the goal in focus.
“It hit home. Talking to a mother and a son who were living in a motel, now they have a home,” Welch said in an interview with 10 Tampa Bay.
“What we want to focus on is that 80% and below AMI where the real need is. And take a look at the housing, this is housing that anyone would be proud to live in. It's maintained well, so we've got to get past that housing for those people, this is housing for all of us,” Welch added.
While they’re making progress towards the goal of preserving or building 7,800 affordable housing units by 2030, some groups have called on the city and mayor to do more. Last week, faith leaders dropped off postcards requesting the city build 1,000 units per year.
Mayor Welch says that ask may be achievable, but that’s not how the process shakes out.
“They don't come in in 1,000 unit chunks. They come in 20 units, like we have here. The units that are under construction at Skyway Lofts 2 to just around the corner of US-19 or the Shore just up the street with about 51 units,” Welch explained.
And like evident at Whispering Pines, the mayor says it takes a lot of partnership and work for impactful projects to cross the finish line.
“It is the true partnership from the Housing Trust Fund that we've established, the Penny for Pinellas, our focus in St Pete through our South St Pete CRA which is another significant funding source. We are really setting the standard on how you move forward strategically and really making an impact, not just talking about affordable housing, but making it happen,” Welch said.