Work starts on 80-unit affordable housing project in Largo

Newstar Development and the Pinellas County Housing Authority have begun construction on an affordable housing community for senior citizens on the site of a public housing development in Largo.

The community, Heritage Oaks, will be made up of 80 apartments at 12455 130th Ave. N.

According to a statement, Heritage Oaks will replace 48 older public housing units with modernized one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments. The units will be reserved for senior citizens who earn 60% or less of the area’s median income.

Tampa-based affordable housing developer Newstar, which announced the news, says this is the first phase of a broader project aimed at transforming the public housing development known as Rainbow Village “into an expanded community of new affordable homes.”

The full Rainbow Village Redevelopment Project will see the county’s housing authority replace 200 units with 350 or more new affordable apartments for seniors, individuals and families, according to the statement.

The redevelopment is part of the Greater Ridgecrest Master Plan which "will revitalize this unincorporated community in Largo with new parks and recreation, safer pedestrian paths and more affordable housing opportunities, among other improvements,” the statement says.

Heritage Oaks has a total development cost of around $31 million. Financing comes from federal block grants and the State Housing Initiatives Partnership program, as well as low-income housing tax credit equity from Raymond James’ Affordable Housing Investments; construction and permanent loans from Raymond James Bank; and housing authority funds.

Brian Evjen, Newstar’s president, says in the statement, that the firm has been working to procure the funding for the development since 2015.

Norstar was founded in Buffalo, New York, in 1992 and has developed over 4,900 units working with no-profit, public housing authorities and CRAs. Norstar’s national holdings now include ownership of over 2,500 units in New York, Texas, Florida and Michigan, the company says.