St. Pete celebrates affordable townhome community opening
By Breanne Williams
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Jan 19, 2024

Namasté Homes and the city of St. Petersburg held a ribbon cutting on Jan. 10 for a workforce housing townhome community in South St. Pete.

Sixteenth Square Townhome, located at 1523 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. S, is being developed by Namasté Homes and will feature 11 workforce housing units. The units are all three-bedroom and two-and-a-half bathrooms with a sales price of approximately $271,000 for those whose income does not exceed 100% of the area median income.

The South St. Pete Community Redevelopment Area committed $1.056 million to the project. Additional funding of up to $60,000 per unit is available as down payment assistance for qualified buyers.

"The Sixteenth Square Townhomes are a prime example of CRA dollars at work," St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch said in a release. "Partnerships with developers like Namasté help to make homeownership a reality for those who thought owning a home was just a dream. This also fulfills our 10-year Housing Opportunities for All Plan which is focused on impacting 8,000 new and current households by 2030."

The more than $3 million project broke ground in 2020 and, once complete, will be deed restricted, ensuring future buyers are also earning within the applicable income as the property will remain affordable for 15 years. Each home is 1,276 square feet and includes a patio. The houses are energy efficient with low-maintenance steel roofs.

The ribbon cutting was attended by Welch, city staff, representatives from Namasté Homes and City Council Vice-Chair Copley Gerdes. A model home was also made available to tour.

Namasté Homes is also behind the Artistry at Park Station in Pinellas Park, which features more than 20 mixed-use homes. There are a variety of floor plans available for the project.