Clearwater Florida Apartment Tower Returns to Affordable Housing

A 208-unit apartment building in Clearwater, Florida, which used to be affordable senior housing for almost 50 years, is now going back to being an affordable community. It had been turned into market-rate housing, which unfortunately pushed out many of its financially vulnerable residents.

The Tampa Bay Times reports that the old Prospect Towers, bought in 2020 by an investment group and renamed The Indigo Apartments, are now under the control of Sunrise Affordable Housing Group, a company based in Palm Beach. They plan to make all the units available to people earning between 30% and 80% of the area’s median income.

In Clearwater, this means an annual income of about $18,000 to $50,000 for a two-person household.

This big $47.8 million project aims to provide homes for people who need more affordable options. It will include $1 million from the city’s state and federal housing funds, $2 million from the Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency, and $7 million from Pinellas County’s Penny for Pinellas one-cent sales tax revenue. The rest will be covered by tax credits, a federal housing loan, and deferred developer profits, with an additional $6 million going to the developer.

Plans are in place for the building to get about $9 million in renovations. According to the agreement with the county, the property will be placed in the Pinellas County Land Trust, ensuring it stays affordable housing forever.

Jesús Niño, the executive director of the Community Redevelopment Agency, shared his excitement, saying, “Affordable housing is coming back to downtown.”

Available Foreclosures: 

Clearwater: 15 homes available.

By Elías DaSilva | 31 de octubre de 2024