Remaining original Jordan Park bungalows to be replaced with senior housing complex
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A major hurdle has been cleared to revamp and expand St. Petersburg’s oldest affordable housing complex.
Thirty-one vacant bungalows are what remains of the original Jordan Park complex that was completed in the 1940s. It was the city’s first African American public housing complex.
Pinellas County commissioners just approved $39 million in bond money that will demolish these vacant homes and replace them with a three-story complex that will house 60 senior families.
Many in the community, including Pinellas County Commissioner Rene Flowers, don’t want to see the bungalows go. They want them to be renovated.
"I’m not really happy, I’m torn…because they are historic," she told FOX 13.
Flowers says she does support the project because it adds 29 additional units.
St. Petersburg House Authority CEO Michael Lundy says there are more than 1,000 people on his waiting list and it was best to move forward with a plan that adds more units.
"I understand there’s an emotion. It was a difficult decision, but I was asked to make the best decision, make the best plan," he said.
The 31 bungalows have been vacant since 2017 after issues with rats, mold and other problems came up.
More than 200 other units in the Jordan Park area are also going to get a facelift.
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