On Thursday, March 23, the City of Largo joined the Tampa Bay Community Development Corporation (d/b/a Suncoast Housing Connections) to break ground on the City's first affordable net zero housing unit. Suncoast Housing Connections will serve as the developer on the project.
The property, located at 528 1st Ave NE, made local news in 2017 related to the City’s efforts to address vacant blighted properties in Largo. The property had a dilapidated vacant house that caused safety hazards in the neighborhood. At that time, local land use codes did not allow a house to be built back because the property was considered non-conforming, or smaller than the required minimum lot size. The City purchased the property and demolished the blighted structure to remove the safety hazard from the neighborhood.
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when rent and home purchase prices were skyrocketing and there was limited supply of housing stock in Largo, City team members presented a hardship relief case to the Largo Planning Board for approval to build a home back on this lot. The case was approved and the City proceeded with a process to donate the land to an affordable housing developer to build either a housing unit. Tampa Bay Community Development Corporation was selected for the lot donation. Their proposal included building a home for a first-time homeownership and incorporated multiple energy and water saving components and hurricane hardening features as well as accessibility features.
This property was brought to the City’s 2021 Affordable Housing Advisory Committee as an example of a non-conforming lot. The Committee made recommendations to the City Commission to amend codes to allow a housing unit to be placed back on non-conforming residential lots. In 2023, that change became a reality as the City’s codes were amended to allow one home to be built back on these smaller lots.
The City of Largo is contributing $95,000 from State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) funding toward construction and solar panels, and the remaining construction costs are being leveraged by the developer from other funding sources. Ultimately the home will be sold to a first-time homebuyer at or below 80% median income. Not only will the household gain access to a safe and affordable home but will also benefit on an ongoing basis from the reduced cost of utilities due to the design and energy components included in the home.
For more information about Largo Housing Services, visit Largo.com/Housing or email [email protected].
