80-unit affordable senior housing project ready to break ground in Largo
By Breanne Williams
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: May 23, 2024

An 80-unit affordable senior housing project will break ground May 24 in Largo.

The Pinellas County Housing Authority and Newstar Development will host a groundbreaking event on Friday for Heritage Oaks at 12455 130th Ave. N. Pinellas County commissioners and leaders of the Greater Ridgecrest community will also be in attendance. According to the county, this will be the first step in redeveloping the aging public housing community. Heritage Oaks will feature one- and two-bedroom units.

Heritage Oaks will replace 48 public housing units with 80 new apartments. The units will be reserved for those making at or below 60% of the area median income. The community is managed by the PCHA with financial support from the Florida Housing Finance Corp. The project received $3.36 million from the county’s HOME, SHIP and CDBG funds.

Later phases of the redevelopment — which is supported by the county and the PCHA — will “transform the outdated Rainbow Village housing development into an expanded community of new affordable homes,” according to the county. Rainbow Village is a community of duplexes and triplexes that was built in 1969.

When complete, the full Rainbow Village redevelopment project will replace 200 aging units with at least 240 more affordable units for seniors, families and individual workers.

“The redevelopment project is a pivotal step in the Greater Ridgecrest Master Plan, a long-term collaboration between neighbors and Pinellas County government to revitalize this unincorporated community in Largo with new parks and recreation, safer pedestrian paths and more affordable housing opportunities, among other improvements,” the county stated in a release.