St. Pete church gets approval to build affordable housing
By Breanne Williams
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Mar 3, 2023

Palm Lake Christian Church will move forward with its plans to build affordable housing on its vacant property.

The project went before the city council Thursday evening and drew a wave of feedback from surrounding neighbors. Its site plan received unanimous approval.

The church at 5401 22nd Ave. N intends to build a three-story residential building on the northeast side of the property. The building will have 72 beds and may be used for housing for those living with disabling conditions. Plans show there will be 64 one-bedroom units and eight two-bedroom units.

The church intends to build 14 one-story casitas — or garden cottages on the property's northwest side. The casitas will surround a community garden. The existing church offices, sanctuary, memorial garden and recreation area will not be removed.

The church intends to utilize House Bill 1339, which allows cities to approve affordable housing developments on land that is zoned for commercial, industrial or residential. The church intends to finance the three-story building with low-income housing tax credit equity.

The rent for the three-story building will be set aside for those earning at or below 60% of the area median income (AMI). The one-story casitas will provide workforce housing and will be set aside for residents earning up to 120% AMI.

OutsideIn Architecture designed the project. Palm Lake Christian Church owns 8.3 acres on 22nd Avenue N. Paved vehicular parking will be added along 22nd Ave. N near the west side of the three-story building and on the north side of the one-story buildings. There will be grass parking on the north side of the property.

There was a large wave of backlash from neighbors who expressed fears about building housing for those with certain disabilities. Council members were reminded they could not legally discriminate based on disabling conditions.

Several city council members, including Chair Brandi Gabbard and Councilmember Richie Floyd, expressed their extreme discomfort with some of the rhetoric used during public comment. Gabbard said St. Pete is a community for everyone and asked those in attendance to “have an open heart and an open mind” and to welcome the new neighbors into the community.