TAMPA, Fla. — Just a few blocks from Tampa’s high-profile Gasworx redevelopment, another transformation is taking shape along the Nebraska Avenue corridor.
Urban ReWorx is leading a neighborhood revitalization effort focused on expanding affordable housing, increasing homeownership opportunities and helping longtime residents remain in the community as redevelopment accelerates.
For longtime resident Djala Peck, the changes are welcome.
“I just hope and am looking for improvement for everybody,” she said.
But Peck, a single mother of three, said rising costs continue to make it difficult for working families.
“It is tough. It’s not easy,” she said. “I have three boys, (ages) 17, 14 and seven.”
Urban ReWorx co-founder Thad Bereday said redevelopment has brought increased demand to the area.
“With new residents moving to our community and new developments occurring, there has definitely been upward price pressure,” Bereday said.
Bereday said the organization’s goal is to revitalize neighborhoods without leaving behind the people who have lived there for decades.
“I just believe that neglected communities should not be forgotten and deserve the same type of development investment that we’re seeing in other parts of Tampa,” he said.
Urban ReWorx’s latest project is The Vicente, a 20-unit mixed-use affordable housing development planned for 2914 North Nebraska Avenue. in the heart of V.M. Ybor.
The development will include ground-floor retail space and apartments for households earning up to 80% of the area median income. The project is supported by more than $4.25 million in funding from the city of Tampa.
“Nothing has really happened in the avenue for the last 60 plus years,” said Miguel Gonzalez, Urban ReWorx’s director of operations. “So I’m delighted to be a part of this catalyst breakthrough for Nebraska.”
Gonzalez, a Ybor City native, said Urban ReWorx’s work extends beyond apartment construction. Its portfolio also includes newly built bungalow-style single-family homes designed to blend into the neighborhood’s historic character.
The organization also helped establish the Nebraska Avenue Business Association to give local businesses a voice as redevelopment continues.
“As the grandson and son of immigrants who started here, now I am the grandfather and father of the next fourth and fifth generation,” Gonzalez said. “So what more can we say? What more can we do than to leave it better than when it was given to us?”
For Peck, the investment represents hope that longtime residents can remain part of the neighborhood despite the challenges of today’s economy.
“Just basic essentials. All that adds up and I hope for a change one day,” she said.
Until that day comes, Peck said she appreciates Urban ReWorx’s approach to creating stable, long-term housing opportunities instead of short-term solutions.
Urban ReWorx plans to hold a groundbreaking ceremony for The Vicente on Sept. 2.
Organization leaders say they hope the project will help spur continued investment along the Nebraska Avenue corridor while preserving affordability for current and future residents.