As part of an ongoing effort to bring housing to Pinellas County's working-class neighborhoods, county officials are gearing up to sell or donate 67 vacant lots in two midcounty communities.
The properties, 60 of which are in Dansville and seven in Ridgecrest, will be developed into three-bedroom, two-bathroom homes with enclosed garages, said county housing manager Bruce Bussey. The county intends to donate six to Habitat for Humanity, put nine up for bid in the next few weeks to feel out the housing market and sell the other 52 down the line.
"We're starting with a phased approach seeing what the market will do," Bussey said.
A minimum of 20 percent of the homes will be designated for affordable housing, which calls for homes priced between $140,000 and $160,000. The parcels in Dansville, an unincorporated neighborhood off Ulmerton Road near Largo, are grouped in clusters near other county-owned lots that could later be developed into community amenities, said Renea Vincent, division manager of community development and planning, at a recent county commission meeting.
Mike Sutton, CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas County, said he anticipates his organization's six properties will be matched with potential homeowners in the next three to four months and for construction to finish by the end of the year.
"Affordable land in Pinellas County is extremely hard to come by," Sutton said. "This is a great partnership with the county that allowed us to be able to build houses in the same area."
The county purchased the land lot by lot over the last 15 years and cleared some of run-down buildings and debris, Bussey said. Officials also had to work out some property ownership issues and replat some of the parcels to ensure they met local land development standards before they could relinquish them from county possession.
Along with property purchase and demolition, the county has installed upgraded water lines, improved roads and removed debris from a stormwater retention pond in the area, among other changes. Bussey said the investment so far in Dansville totals about $6.3 million of federal grant money intended for improvements in low- to moderate-income communities. The county anticipates roughly $1.3 million in revenue from the upcoming land sale based on a market appraisal that valued the lots at $2 per square foot.
Through the process, Bussey said county officials have worked with residents to ensure the plan for the lots fits in with their vision for the community.
Marshall Walker-El, who was born in Dansville and has lived there most of his life, said he has been happy with the county's work in the area so far. He recalled leaving home to join the U.S. Marines Corps in 1971 and returning 20 years later to a neighborhood that looked almost exactly the same. Now, he said, almost everything is new.
Development of the lots has been "a long time coming," he said, after years of wondering what would happen to the vacant land.
"It would improve the community, regardless," Walker-El, 62, said. "We hope we get a good developer to hold up his word and build some good homes."
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Explore all your optionsKathryn Varn can be reached at (727) 893-8913 or kvarn@tampabay.com. Follow @kathrynvarn.