ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — Funding for the St. Petersburg Housing Authority’s Jordan Park redevelopment project has been greenlit to the tune of $93 million in funding. The redevelopment and rehabilitation will kick off in early 2022 and continue in phases until complete.
The redevelopment project has been in the works for a long time, and has faced multiple delays as leadership at SPHA went through changes and proposals for repair, and then redevelopment shifted along with it.
Now, the funds are set and they’re getting more than what was originally reported — almost $15 million more.
The money that will fuel the rehabilitation comes from a variety of places.
Norstar Development USA also provided a list of financing partners for Jordan Park.
Some funds for the project come from low-income housing tax credits issued by organizations such as Florida Housing Finance Corporation and RBC Community Investments.
The Pinellas County Housing Finance Authority was the bond issuer for the project, while RISE Jordan Park Apartments, LLC sold the note for the building acquisition. The Federal Home Loan Banks Affordable Housing Program was also listed as a financial source for the project’s permanent funding.
Here’s a breakdown of where the funds are coming from:
| Permanent Source | Funding Amount |
|---|---|
| RISE Jordan Park Apartments, LLC Seller Note | $27,500,000 |
| SPHA Funds | $0 |
| FHLB – AHP | $0 |
| Tax Exempt Permanent Loan (4.25%, 35 years) | $27,100,000 |
| Federal Tax Credit Equity | $33,638,309 |
| Pinellas County Penny 4 Funds | $0 |
| City of St. Petersburg (South St. Pete CRA) | $2,000,000 |
| Accrued Capitalized Interest | $1,650,000 |
| Deferred Fee | $1,108,358 |
| Total | $92,996,667 |
Loans for construction were issued by the South St. Pete Community Redevelopment Agency and KeyBank. The rehabilitation schedule should start in January with the beginning of Fiscal Year 2022.
The schedule should run as follow:
- Q1 2022 – Commence Phase I
- Q4 2022 – Commence Phase II
- Q2 2023 – Complete Phase I
- Q1 2024 – Complete Phase II
The Phase 1 construction will include building a senior midrise and renovating 97 of the property’s 206 family-style apartment units, as well as the community center and management office.
To facilitate building the 60 units for the senior midrise, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development gave approval in November for demolition of 31 vacant units in Jordan Park’s Historic Village.
When Phase 2 begins in Q4 2022, developers will renovate the remaining family units at the site. The $2 million from the City of St. Petersburg are paid from Tax Increment Financing dollars, given by the St. Petersburg Redevelopment District Fund. They’ll be used to pay for buying washers and dryers for each apartment and to build additional parking spaces at the location.
Modernizing the apartments will allow for rehabilitation and redevelopment without destroying the historic site, Florida’s oldest public housing project. It’ll also give low-income, vulnerable residents in St. Petersburg a new place to live, once the apartments are fixed up.
As the redevelopment timeline has updated over the course of securing funding, development partners, and planning the rehabilitation, one thing has been clear. The update to the older housing facility signals a new chapter at Jordan Park Apartments is about to start.