Seventy-five new apartments for seniors have opened their doors in St. Petersburg, with residents moving into Burlington Post II over the past month after roughly two years of construction. The five-story building sits beside Burlington Post I, which began welcoming residents in 2018, and rounds out a growing stretch of affordable senior housing along Burlington Avenue.
According to St. Pete Catalyst, the building consists of 75 units and features a fitness center, community outdoor space, a game room and 24/7 security. Sources differ on the exact address, with St. Pete Catalyst citing 3295 Burlington Ave N. while St. Pete Rising previously reported the project would rise at 3201 Burlington Avenue North. A Pinellas County Government post marking the opening thanked a long list of partners that helped bring the project to life, including Raymond James, Fifth Third Bank, Florida Housing, NLP, Pinellas County, the City of St. Petersburg and developer Green Mills Group.
Who Qualifies and Who Paid for It
Burlington Post II is designed for seniors earning between 22% and 80% of the area median income, per the county’s Facebook announcement, which noted that affordable units serve tenants at 80%, 60% and 30% of AMI. The St. Pete Catalyst report similarly describes units for seniors earning up to 80% of AMI, while WFTS Tampa Bay 28 reported that some units are restricted to 60% and 30% of AMI.
Funding for the project came from a stack of public and private sources. Pinellas County provided $3.75 million, according to St. Pete Catalyst, which the station’s earlier report broke down as $3.5 million in Emergency Rental Assistance funds and $208,023 in Housing Trust funds. The Housing Finance Authority of Pinellas County issued $16 million in tax-exempt housing revenue bonds, the Catalyst’s report noted, while the county’s own Facebook post credited the Florida Housing Finance Corporation and the St. Petersburg Community Redevelopment Agency as additional partners that worked to realize the project.
Conflicting Figures on the City’s Share and Total Cost
The City of St. Petersburg’s exact contribution is reported differently depending on the source. St. Pete Catalyst put the city’s share at approximately $5.8 million, while WFTS Tampa Bay 28 reported the city is providing $5.625 million. Total project cost is similarly disputed: Tampa Bay 28 listed an expected cost of $28.41 million, St. Pete Rising reported a total development cost of $28.4 million, and developer Green Mills Group has described Burlington Post II on its own website as a $30MM+ new construction project…