Longlake Preserve, a five-phase townhome community from Habitat for Humanity on the Clearwater-Largo border, is closing in on the finish line. Several families are already settling into newly completed units, even as the local affiliate moves ahead on a second wave of construction right next door. Habitat has closed on an adjacent roughly eight-acre parcel and says it plans to build about 100 additional townhomes there, a move that underlines the shift toward denser homeownership options as land prices and construction costs squeeze would-be buyers in Pinellas County.
Mike Sutton, president and CEO of Habitat for Humanity Tampa Bay Gulfside, told Tampa Bay 28 that the nonprofit has found an unusually strong ally in local government. “The City of Largo has been a phenomenal partner to Habitat,” he said, adding that the affiliate has built roughly 250 homes in the Largo area. Sutton framed Longlake Preserve as part of a deliberate push to create ownership opportunities for local teachers, health care workers and first responders who are increasingly priced out of the market.
Longlake Preserve Nears Completion
Longlake Preserve is being built in five phases and is slated to total 54 homes, with 52 townhomes and two single-family houses, according to Habitat for Humanity Tampa Bay Gulfside. Pinellas County's project page notes a Dec. 20, 2023, groundbreaking and highlights the county and city gap funding that helped cover infrastructure costs on the site, a key factor in making the numbers work.
Habitat held a dedication in December 2025, handing keys to eight families and kicking off a broader move-in wave. New homeowner Kristen Mims said the change has already been transformative for her household. “There are no words to put into a sentence to describe how much this will impact our lives,” Mims told St. Pete Catalyst.
Next Door: 833 Wyatt and 100 Townhomes
Habitat has also secured the former American Collegiate Academy site at 833 Wyatt Street and plans to redevelop the roughly eight-acre property into about 100 townhomes, with site work expected to begin in 2026. The acquisition and timeline were reported by the Tampa Bay Business Journal and by St. Pete Rising, which both detail how the project is intended to add a substantial batch of ownership opportunities right next to Longlake Preserve.
Why Habitat Is Building Denser
Affiliate leaders say townhomes let Habitat stretch scarce land further while still serving owner-occupant families in Pinellas County, which ranks among Florida’s most densely populated counties. Reporting on limited buildable land and rising construction costs has underscored the shift, and Habitat's own 2026 report points to a growing emphasis on larger, multifamily-style projects to keep up with need. Local coverage frames that strategy as a practical response to affordability pressures. Tampa Bay 28 and Habitat's materials both outline that rationale in detail.
From here, the 833 Wyatt project moves into the less glamorous but crucial planning phase: rezoning the property, demolishing the old school buildings, then working through design and permitting before any vertical construction starts. Habitat says rezoning and the early stages of work are expected to run through 2026, with the first families projected to move in around early 2027. Prospective homebuyers can review program requirements, including mandatory classes, sweat-equity hours and zero-percent interest mortgages, on the Habitat for Humanity Tampa Bay Gulfside site, while local reporting continues to track the rezoning process and buildout timeline.
