Arya is St. Petersburg’s latest apartment complex to offer workforce housing.
The property at 375 54th Avenue N. has 415 units, 125 of which are dedicated to households earning between 80% and 120% of the area median income (AMI), or $112,680 for three people.
Individuals in this income bracket are often essential workers, such as nurses and teachers.
Arya’s workforce options are a part of the City of St. Petersburg’s Housing Opportunities For All initiative, and the Penny for Pinellas program. The Penny tax is a one-cent sales tax used to financially support county infrastructure projects.
The City contributed $1 million to help fund the project; $4 million Penny for Pinellas dollars were allocated towards the construction of the complex.
Stock Development and the City celebrated this partnership Wednesday at a ribbon cutting ceremony. St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch spoke at the event and discussed the collaboration.
“It’s so special for our community to have this emphasis on affordable and workforce housing,” he said. “These are the folks that are essential in making our city go forward.”
For Keith Gelder, President of Stock Luxury Apartment Living (a division of Stock Development), adding workforce apartments made sense.
“We felt this property was a really good fit for it,” he explained to the Catalyst. “We’re really proud of that to be able to deliver much-needed housing to the community.”
Stock purchased the property five years ago, Gelder said. Construction began in April 2022. “These large-scale projects take a significant amount of planning and design and thought.” Creating workforce housing units, he explained, was a decision made early.
The complex includes seven apartment buildings and five carriage home buildings, or separate dwelling spaces.
Apartment units range from one to three bedrooms. The average size is approximately 1,000 sq. ft.
Amenities include a multi-story clubhouse that has a fitness center, miniature bowling alley, rock climbing wall, pool table and arcade.
Eighty percent of the complex is occupied, Gelder explained. Residents were able to start moving in last September.
Stock Luxury Apartment Living, based in Naples, has built projects in St. Pete, Fort Myers, Sarasota, Naples, Estero and Wesley Chapel.
Written by: Michael Conner
https://stpetecatalyst.com/ribbon-cut-on-workforce-housing-apartment-complex/
