{"id":133770,"date":"2026-01-27T18:12:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T18:12:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/133770\/"},"modified":"2026-01-27T18:12:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T18:12:09","slug":"developer-resuscitates-stalled-st-pete-affordable-housing-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/133770\/","title":{"rendered":"Developer resuscitates stalled St. Pete affordable housing project"},"content":{"rendered":"

An affordable housing-focused developer is breathing new life into a long-dormant, $67.2 million project in west St. Petersburg after several years of uncertainty.<\/p>\n

Washington D.C.-based Gravel Road Partners is now building Sixty90, a 204-unit apartment community with ground-level retail space. Pinellas County commissioners unanimously approved $6.71 million in funding for the new iteration, which will dedicate 60% of its units to households earning up to 80% of the area median income (AMI).<\/p>\n

Local real estate investment firms DDA Development and Backstreets Capital first proposed Sixty90 in December 2020<\/a>. Tyler Herbert, founding partner of Gravel Road Partners (GRP<\/a>), said keeping most of the original design should allow his company to break ground at 6090 Central Ave. in the summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think one of the big things that differentiated the project, both from the county and city\u2019s perspective, is the level of affordability,\u201d Herbert told the Catalyst. \u201cAlso, everybody\u2019s really excited to see this project come out of the ground. The site\u2019s been cleared for years.\u201d<\/p>\n

An evolution<\/p>\n

Sixty90\u2019s previous developers initially planned to reserve 90% of its units for households earning up to 120% of the AMI, which is now $100,150 for two people. The remaining 10% would have featured market-rate rents.<\/p>\n

However, post-pandemic construction costs soared. By April 2022, the percentage of workforce housing units plummeted from 90% to 20%<\/a>, and the number of market-rate apartments increased to 21.<\/p>\n

DDA and Backstreet later returned $3.5 million in Penny for Pinellas funding as the project stalled. The development group, which spent $350,000 on site and design work, listed the fully entitled, three-acre property for sale in early 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody was very optimistic that something would be built there,\u201d Herbert said. \u201cSo, to kind of revitalize this and actually get it out of the ground \u2013 everybody has been very supportive of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Gravel Road Partners hopes to break ground on Sixty90 in the summer.<\/p>\n

Herbert said his firm knows and respects the previous development team. The two groups began ironing out a deal in the summer of 2025.<\/p>\n

DDA \u201cdid a great job\u201d of designing Sixty90, Herbert said. \u201cBut it just wasn\u2019t economically viable for a full market-rate project.\u201d<\/p>\n

GRP is also requesting $6.71 million from the city. Herbert reiterated that local housing officials are \u201cextremely supportive.\u201d<\/p>\n

He noted that developers can essentially charge market rates \u2013 or higher \u2013 for workforce housing (120% AMI). City Councilmember Richie Floyd recently said those monthly rents can now reach $2,800.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt Gravel Road, we really don\u2019t view that as addressing the problem or doing anything to provide additional affordable housing,\u201d Herbert said. \u201cThere\u2019s a better way to go about this \u2026 We\u2019re workforce developers, but our North Star really is going to be 80% units.\u201d<\/p>\n

GRP will reserve 122 of Sixty90\u2019s units for households earning up to 80% of the AMI \u2013 $66,800 for two people. Two teachers<\/a> would not qualify, and Herbert said keeping the remaining 82 apartments at market rate would accommodate those people and create a mixed-income community.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe think that showing economic mobility across different unit types and income levels is actually healthier, from a community-building perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n

Market-rate amenities<\/p>\n

Herbert said the initial developers \u201coriginally designed this project as high-end, Class A luxury.\u201d GRP is working to maintain previously planned amenities, despite lower income thresholds.<\/p>\n

The four-story complex will feature 5,000 square feet of retail space fronting Central Avenue, a clubhouse, a pool with lounge areas, a fitness center, a pet run and co-working space. One of two courtyards will likely offer a playground or children\u2019s activities.<\/p>\n

Herbert said he and co-founder Thomas Toepke also want to partner with a childcare provider. The two have long strived to provide that \u201chuge asset\u201d for families, particularly single parents, in their communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s some complexity to that, but we\u2019re pretty passionate about solving it,\u201d Herbert added. \u201cWe\u2019ve already started talking with the team at the city, who has done some early work on daycare facilities in different multifamily communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A graphic highlighting interior amenities.<\/p>\n

A wrapped parking garage will offer 271 vehicle and 218 bicycle parking spaces. Apartments average 1,022 square feet, and all will feature vinyl plank flooring, private balconies or patios, energy-efficient appliances and in-unit washers and dryers.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can come in and build an affordable project and really save the dollars on the amenities,\u201d Herbert explained. \u201cAnd in some cases, that is the difference between the project coming to life or not. So, I don\u2019t fault any developer who isn\u2019t able to offer an amenity set.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Trust\u2019<\/p>\n

However, he said strong support from the county and city should allow GRP to continue offering \u201cmarket-rate level amenity packages\u201d in affordable housing developments. \u201cEverything is about trust.\u201d<\/p>\n

GRP completed the Bayou Court Apartments in South St. Petersburg under budget and on schedule<\/a>, despite a devastating 2024 hurricane season. The affordable development prioritizes local public school and government employees.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf those folks can\u2019t afford to live in the communities they serve, then it\u2019s not just a housing issue anymore,\u201d Herbert said. \u201cThat\u2019s an economic crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n

In December, Herbert and Toepke returned over $24,000 in public funding to both the county and city, likely the first such repayment in local history. The two hope their efforts can inspire other developers.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople need to stop looking at it as a subsidy and really more as an investment into essential infrastructure,\u201d Herbert said of housing funding. \u201cIf these cities and counties are investing in us, then we\u2019re going to treat them like any of our other investors, where, if we do better than we thought, that money goes back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Tyler Herbert (left) and Thomas Toepke (right), co-founders of Gravel Road Partners, returned over $24,000 in public funding to Mayor Ken Welch in December. Photo: City of St. Petersburg.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An affordable housing-focused developer is breathing new life into a long-dormant, $67.2 million project in west St. Petersburg…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":133771,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[202,204,203,199,201,200],"class_list":{"0":"post-133770","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-st-petersburg","8":"tag-st-pete","9":"tag-st-pete-headlines","10":"tag-st-pete-news","11":"tag-st-petersburg","12":"tag-st-petersburg-headlines","13":"tag-st-petersburg-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=133770"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133770\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/133771"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=133770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=133770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=133770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}