LARGO — For nearly 40 years, Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas and West Pasco Counties has provided affordable housing for hundreds of qualified families throughout the greater Tampa Bay region.
Since 1985, the local branch of the nationwide nonprofit has served over 800 homeowners who meet eligibility requirements that include education curriculum and putting hundreds of hours of sweat equity in the project, and in the end they’re rewarded by being handed the keys to their own brand new home.
But despite its extensive work, Habitat has built only two multifamily developments in the area: small-scale townhome projects in Lealman and Dunedin several years ago. That statistic is set to change following the groundbreaking ceremony for Habitat’s new Longlake Preserve project, a 54-unit townhome development on a vacant 7-acre parcel at 1756 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. in Largo.
“We’re here with a common belief that everybody deserves a safe, decent, affordable place to call home,” said Mike Sutton, president and chief executive for Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas and West Pasco Counties, to open the Dec. 20 ceremony. “Today marks a significant step towards this goal as we celebrate the groundbreaking of Longlake Preserve.”
Sutton explained the new neighborhood “is not just our largest multifamily project in nearly 40 years, but it’s a sign of progress and our commitment to the community. And we’re all thrilled to finally see it come to life.”
Indeed, the project was hailed by several officials in attendance, including Largo Mayor Woody Brown, state Sen. Ed Hooper, state Rep. Kim Berfield and Pinellas County Commissioner Charlie Justice, for being a unique public-private partnership that required collaboration and cooperation from all sides.
“I’d like to thank Habitat staff, our staff, and my colleagues on the City Commission for making meaningful changes in our code to allow projects like this and other affordable housing projects to happen,” Brown said. “We’re working hard around our city to encourage development on the infill side as well as affordable housing.”
Justice noted the $16 million project, which will feature two-story, 1,200-square-foot town homes in 2 bed/2 bath and 3 bed/3 bath configurations, was many months in the making.
“Typically, the groundbreaking is seen as the beginning of a project,” Justice said. “But I can tell you this is a milestone because this has taken months if not years to get where we are today. And I want to thank Mike and the Habitat team and our Pinellas County staff for making this happen.”
Speaking on behalf of lawmakers including Berfield, Justice and Pinellas County Commissioner Chris Latvala, Hooper said, “We get to do a lot of things, some good and some not so good. But there is nothing more rewarding than knowing that because of the work you do to get an appropriation through the process, that appropriation of $2 million dollars is visually in front of you and going to impact 54 families. And this year we’re striving to increase that to $3 million so even more families can dream the American Dream and fulfill that wish of owning their own home.”
Sutton said Longlake Preserve is expected to be completed by the end of next year.
“I think what’s exciting about this project is, we’re taking raw land and being able to develop it into a community,” Sutton told Tampa Bay Newspapers. “That’s rare in Pinellas County and it’s different for us because typically we go in where there’s already infrastructure and we just plug in, get the house done and go on to the next one. This one we’re looking at raw land that’s going to be a community one day, and that’s very exciting.”
Sutton, who’s been head of the regional Habitat branch for a decade, said he’s been amazed at the organization’s continued steady growth, which saw them complete a record 80 home projects in 2023.
“The communities continue to rally behind us, and the support we receive from the state, the local municipalities, our private donors and volunteers, it just continues to increase,” Sutton said. “And that allows us to continue to do more work and help more families year after year.”
