SULPHUR SPRINGS, TAMPA - Metropolitan Ministries wants to build 12 apartments to help the homeless and others in need get back on their feet.

The nonprofit agency has a promise of donated land on Waters Avenue and in-kind construction from a major builder. But some Sulphur Springs residents say the community is tired of being a dumping ground for social services.

'This is sort of the straw that broke the camel's back,' resident and property owner Mike Keller said.

Agency representatives discussed the proposal at a recent meeting of the Sulphur Springs Action League.

'We didn't particularly like it,' league President Joseph Robinson said.

The meeting 'raised more questions than it answered,' said Linda Hope, publisher of the Penny Saver.

The intentions appear good, residents say, but they worry about adding another social service program to a community overwhelmed with group homes and needy families.

Cathy Capo-Stone, strategic planning officer for Metropolitan Ministries, said the project could become a model for housing to prevent homelessness.

'It's not public housing,' she said. 'These aren't transient homeless folks.'

The faith-based organization provides food, job counseling, temporary housing and other services to the homeless.

The city council will hold a public hearing June 14 to consider rezoning the mixed commercial and residential property to planned development. If the zoning is approved, the vacant sanctuary and fellowship hall for Calvary United Methodist Church, 750 Waters Ave., will be torn down.

Metropolitan Ministries proposes a pair of two-story buildings, each with six apartments, and a clubhouse for residents.

The site is on a commercial section of Waters across from the Tampa Greyhound Track and adjacent to a neighborhood of single-family homes along Taliaferro and Arden avenues.

The church will donate the land if the zoning is approved. Lennar Homes and other builders are expected to contribute about half of the project's $2 million cost. Additional money will be requested from the city and county, Capo-Stone said.

The renters would be families, not individuals, receiving services from the nonprofit. They must have jobs and some will be in school, Capo-Stone said. They would pay rent equal to one-third of their income and stay in the apartments for about two years.

'They just need some time to get a rental history and get on their feet,' Capo-Stone said.

Some might move from the nonprofit's temporary quarters; others might be facing eviction due to job loss. Some will be recovering alcohol and drug addicts who are in outreach programs.

Capo-Stone said she got a mixed reaction at the neighborhood meeting. Some people wanted to know whether Sulphur Springs residents could qualify for the apartments, and she said that is a possibility. The agency plans to adopt one community suggestion: a 24-hour on-site property manager.

Capo-Stone said she would meet with neighbors again if necessary.

'We want to have good relations,' she said.

But Keller said this kind of project is unfair to Sulphur Springs, which wants to encourage single-family housing.

'This is the sort of thing that sets the development of the community back,' he said.

Reporter Kathy Steele can be reached at (813) 835-2103 or ksteele@tampatrib.com.