Developer breaks ground on senior affordable housing project in west St. Pete
By Breanne Williams
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Jun 6, 2023

Affordable housing developer Blue Sky Communities has broken ground on a project bringing 85 units to seniors in west St. Petersburg.

The development, called Bear Creek Commons, is located on a 4.66-acre site at 635 64th St. S and is expected to be complete in fall 2024. The project will have one four-story building with 85 rental units, including 47 one-bedroom, one-bathroom units and 38 two-bedroom, two-bathroom units.

Five units will be set aside for those earning 22% of the area median income, 13 units will be for those with 30% AMI, 48 units for those with 60% AMI and 19 units for those with 80% AMI.

St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch said providing housing opportunities for all residents is one of the city’s pillars for progress, and they are “working every day to improve housing affordability to address the housing crisis that we’re seeing in St. Petersburg and nationwide.”

“Bear Creek Commons is a prime example of an impactful public-private innovation and collaboration that’s creating a better future for some of our most vulnerable citizens in St. Petersburg,” Welch said. “Our seniors and elderly residents — many of them on fixed incomes — are entitled to high-quality, affordable housing, and that’s what Bear Creek Commons will deliver. This is what inclusive progress looks like for housing affordability.”

During the ceremony, councilmember Copley Gerdes said the project will be transformative for west St. Petersburg and shows “what can happen, what can be when we all get together, and we work together, and we really try to create those opportunities for all.”

St. Petersburg committed $6.6 million to the project, one of the first in the city to receive funding from the Penny for Pinellas Affordable Housing Program. The Florida Housing Finance Corp., Pinellas County HFA, Raymond James Affordable Housing Investments, TD Bank and Raymond James Bank also joined to fund the estimated $25 million project.

Carteret Management will manage the property and will offer a resident assurance check-in program, 24-hour support for assisting residents with urgent issues, adult literacy programs and assistance with light housekeeping, shopping and laundry.

Amenities at the development include a fitness room, game room, outdoor recreation space, a gazebo and a back porch.

“Bear Creek Commons is a step in the right direction toward meeting the demand for affordable senior housing in St. Petersburg,” Scott Macdonald, partner with St. Pete-based Blue Sky Communities, said in a release. “We are excited to begin construction and extend our gratitude to our partners for making this project possible. We look forward to this being a community asset servicing a great purpose for many decades to come.”