Affordable housing complex opening in Hillsborough County

The 61-unit development was built in the University Area neighborhood, a high-poverty community in the northern part of the county.

By Louis Llovio
| 5:15 p.m. July 13, 2023
| 2 Free Articles Remaining!

Uptown Sky is a 61-unit development built in the University Area neighborhood, a high-poverty community in the northern part of the county.

Tampa Bay-Lakeland

A new affordable housing option is about to open in Tampa.

Uptown Sky, a 61-unit apartment complex at 13635 North 12th St. near Fletcher Avenue is set to officially open Friday.

The four-story apartment building, just west of the University of South Florida, will have two- and three-bedroom units and has a playground and food truck area. The property will be made of 18 units for household at 50% of the area median income, 30 units for those at 60% of the area medium income and 30 for those at 70% of the area median income.

The property was developed by the prolific affordable housing developer Blue Sky Communities along with the University Area Community Development Corporation.

As housing costs continue to rise in Tampa and Hillsborough, the area is one of those in most need of affordable options.

The University Area community is an 864-acre neighborhood in an unincorporated section of northern Hillsborough County. About 75% of the 10,500 residents are minorities, with Hispanics making up 39% of the population and African Americans making up 33%, according to Sarah Combs, executive director of the CDC. More than 19% of the residents are veterans.

Combs says about 60% of the residents live below the poverty line and unemployment is about twice that of the county.

author

Louis Llovio

Louis Llovio is the deputy managing editor at the Business Observer. Before going to work at the Observer, the longtime business writer worked at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Maryland Daily Record and for the Baltimore Sun Media Group. He lives in Tampa.