Affordable housing project proposed for Clearwater 'eyesore' lot
By Breanne Williams
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Mar 15, 2023

A developer is proposing building a 40-unit affordable housing development in Clearwater.

The apartments are planned for a vacant site, located at 1467 S Martin Luther King Jr. Ave., which the developer calls “an eyesore,” according to plans filed with the city. Krikor Kassarjian and Robert Pergolizzi of Gulf Coast Consulting are the applicants. Tampa-based HSW Associates owns the property.

The 1.18-acre site is currently zoned for commercial. The developer plans to build a three-story building with 40 units, 10 of which will be set aside for households that make no more than 120% of the Area Median Income (AMI).

This equates to 25% of the total development, which increases the allowable density for the site. Currently, the zoning allows for 24 units an acre, but with the affordable housing density bonus, the developer can build up to 42 units on the site.

The development will have a mix of one-and-two-bedroom units. Plans also show there will be 43 parking spaces on-site and a bike rack. The development lies approximately 150 feet from a PSTA bus stop.

To the north of the site is Purdy European Auto Sales/Service, and to the east are two-story single-family homes. Norton Apartments lie directly across the street and to the west is a proposed 24-unit Habitat for Humanity townhome development that has not yet begun construction.

The project will have “extensive building setbacks” from S Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. and the neighboring residential developments. The application also shows that more than 36% of the site will be “ample open space.” The applicant wants to create a pond on the west side of the site and a “large landscape buffer.” The proposal shows there will be a single driveway to S Martin Luther King Jr. Ave.

In the 1960s and 1970s the site was developed as an automotive sales center, service center, office and warehouse. The buildings were demolished in 2010 and it has been vacant ever since.

According to city documents, the application will be reviewed by Clearwater’s Development Review Commission on April 6.