Five affordable homes planned for South St. Petersburg would be placed into a 99-year community land trust structure designed to preserve long-term affordability as redevelopment pressure reshapes the city’s South Side.
The arrangement would place city-owned parcels at 2013 and 2021 18th Ave. S. into a long-term ground lease with Bright Community Trust, which would retain ownership of the land beneath the homes to help keep resale prices affordable over time.
Buyers earning up to 120% of area median income would own the homes through the ground lease structure, which lowers purchase costs in a market where rising land values increasingly put homeownership out of reach for many lower-income buyers.
City documents show St. Petersburg acquired and cleared the former Coral Diamond Apartments site through HUD’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program after the housing crisis.
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Under the agreement, affordability restrictions would remain attached to the homes through future resales. Bright Community Trust would pay nominal rent during the development period.
Plans call for five detached cottage-style homes of about 900 square feet with two-bedroom, one-bath layouts, shared green space and alley-loaded parking.
Redevelopment activity, investor acquisitions and rising land costs continue reshaping South St. Petersburg neighborhoods where workforce and lower-cost homeownership have become increasingly difficult to preserve.
The agreement requires Bright Community Trust to submit permit applications within eight months, begin construction within 14 months of Oct. 1, 2026, and complete the homes within 30 months.
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