Housing is too expensive
Nearly a third of Pinellas families spend more than 40% of their income on rent or mortgage.
Prices are rising
Home prices rose more than 22% in the last year and the trend shows no sign of slowing.
Zoning matters
Restrictive zoning prohibits denser housing in many areas of the city, driving up prices.
Supply and demand
Until supply catches up with demand, the crisis will continue.
Testimonials
Housing is an intensely human issue – here’s what St. Pete residents have to say:
I live in downtown St. Pete, a growing, young and vibrant city. Access to affordable housing positively impacts employer’s ability to attract and retain employees and remain competitive. It can also reduce social service costs and help end the cycle of poverty. It is vital to the health of a community.
Judy Ludin
Chief Development & Community Relations Officer, Menorah Manor
Christian and I love living in our ADU. The main thing is that we like being able to live in a neighborhood rather than in a big apartment complex. We enjoy having our own space and especially love not having shared walls with anyone. The rent for this apartment is more affordable than many downtown complexes, which is also a plus.
Katelyn Schockman
PhD candidate, USF
My father in law was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in the early 1990’s. In 2015, we realized that his mobility was becoming more and more limited which was making his life difficult because their house at the time was not easily accessible. We came up with the idea to tear down their old house and build a “family compound”. The new compound consists of a 2,500 sq ft main house and a 500 sq ft cottage. Besides the major improvements in accessibility, the family compound allows us to assist my mother in law with the care required for my father in law and has brought our family closer together (literally and figuratively).
Thomas Burkett
PJ Callaghan Construction
Our home was built in 1926 and was originally constructed with a studio one bedroom apartment above the garage with a separate entrance. When we bought the home 20 years ago, we thought we might make it a guest cottage. Instead, over the years we’ve used it as a home for the nanny to our children (now grown) or rented it. Our tenants have always been young single people. As they enter the apartment from the alley side, we rarely see them and yet it makes us feel more secure to have someone living on site when we’re out of town.
Jay Miller
J Square Developers
“YIMBY St. Pete is part of a nationwide movement that acknowledges that decades of exclusionary housing policy have failed American cities. If we want to actually fix this problem, we need bolder, more holistic changes to the regulations that prohibit supply from meeting demand.”
Mack Feldman
Vice President, Feldman Equities
“It’s only through community activism that we will finally overcome the bias towards single-family zoning. YIMBY St. Pete shines a light on affordable housing policies that should’ve been implemented a long time ago.”
Frank Wells
Chief Community Officer, Bright Community Trust