Habitat for Humanity to break ground on St. Pete townhomes
By Breanne Williams
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Nov 30, 2022

Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas and West Pasco Counties is breaking ground on a 10-unit townhome development in South St. Petersburg.

In partnership with Exact-Shell Dash LLC and the city of St. Petersburg, the organization will bring the townhomes to the 16th Street Business Corridor, bordering the Campbell Park Neighborhood.

Mike Sutton, president and CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas and West Pasco Counties, said Habitat’s primary focus is to “serve families through affordable homeownership opportunities.” The development will be exclusively marketed to homeowners that make less than 80% of the area median income.

“The Habitat Homeownership Program empowers individuals and families to build and buy their own homes with the help of people in our community,” Sutton said in a release. “With each home dedication ceremony, we see the cycle of generational poverty breaking – and we are proud to partner with Mayor [Ken] Welch and his team to bring that opportunity to South St. Petersburg.”

The townhomes are all two stories and will have three bedrooms and three bathrooms. They also each have a single-car garage.

The Habitat program offers homeowners a 0% interest mortgage. An investment from the city allows each unit to have a maximum sales price capped at $219,000. The homes sold through Habitat offer a path to homeownership for those who do not qualify for a traditional mortgage.

DuCon Construction is the general contractor and is a state-certified minority business enterprise. Construction is slated to be completed by the third quarter of 2024.

“Exact Partners and Architects are excited about our partnership with the city of St. Petersburg and Habitat for Humanity,” developer Bob Mayer said in a release. “It has been a long time coming to provide this affordable new housing to the South side of St. Petersburg. This truly is a public, private and nonprofit partnership model for getting affordable housing to the people of St. Petersburg.”

The groundbreaking will be held on Dec. 6.