Palms of Pinellas apartment homes is located at 13101 Belcher Road South in Largo and will provide much needed affordable workforce housing for essential workers in the community, including those workers working in the tourism and service industries. The development will provide housing that is affordable to individuals and families that earn from 50 percent of the Area Median Income to 150 percent of Area Median Income.
“A unique public-private partnership was created for the development of Palms of Pinellas” said Debbie Johnson, PCHA’s executive director. Nineteen of the apartments will have income restrictions of 50% AMI and another ten percent will be restricted to 80% AMI. The remaining units will be for individuals and families earning up to 150% of AMI. “This was a difficult deal to put together. Through US AmeriBank we were able to take advantage of low interest rates to make the conventional financing for this deal work, and our partners, Pinellas County and the Housing Finance Authority of Pinellas County, stepped in to provide the needed gap financing and the land purchase through the Land Assembly Fund. It took all the partners to make this new workforce housing possible” Johnson said.
Angela Rouson, PCHA’s board chair said “When people can afford to live closer to where they work, entire communities see the benefit. Commute times ease, neighborhoods are more diverse and provide the opportunity for families to live and grow, and employers can attract and retain essential workers. The entire community is strengthened.”