A long-industrial pocket of South Tampa could be headed for a serious makeover. Plans filed this spring outline Lois Lofts, a three-story, 93-unit apartment building proposed for a roughly two-acre industrial lot at 5210 S. Lois Avenue. The project would convert the vacant site into workforce housing under Florida’s Live Local Act and replace longstanding industrial uses near S. Lois and W. Pearl Avenue. The application is in city review, with the developer indicating a mix of unit sizes and on-site parking while neighbors and officials wait to see where affordability levels and infrastructure details land.
Plans filed under Live Local
As reported by Florida YIMBY, the proposal known as "Lois Lofts" would rise three stories above grade and pack 93 apartments onto the two-acre site. That outlet’s review of city records says roughly 40 percent of the homes, about 37 units, would be reserved for households earning up to 60 percent of the area median income. Florida YIMBY reports that for a four-person household, 60 percent AMI currently pencils out to about $62,580 per year. The filing lists Blue LL Developer, LLC as the developer and Blue Lois, LLC as the applicant, and notes that the project is being advanced under the state’s Live Local Act framework.
City filings show a different affordability target
Per a City of Tampa list of Live Local projects, record number LND-26-0000053 for 5210 S. Lois Avenue shows 93 total units and 93 affordable units, a 100 percent affordable mix, with a status of "In Review." City of Tampa materials direct readers to the ACA portal for the full application packet and indicate that staff are still working through utility and site plan comments. The gap between the city’s docket and some early press reports suggests the final affordability breakdown could still shift as staff and the applicant reconcile the numbers in the official record.
Parking, site history and the developer
Tampa Bay Business & Wealth reports that current plans call for about 75 motor-vehicle parking spaces plus 10 bicycle stalls, 85 total, to serve the residents. The two-acre parcel last changed hands in 1992 for $1.7 million, according to county records cited by the outlet. Tampa Bay Business & Wealth also notes that the filing covers new utility connections, an underground stormwater system, site grading, sidewalks and landscaping. With the land zoned Commercial Intensive, the developer is looking to swap out an underused industrial site for new residential stock in a part of South Tampa that has been more loading dock than living room.
How Live Local shapes the project
The Live Local Act, the 2023 state law cited as SB 102, lets developers that include significant affordable housing set-asides seek higher density and streamlined approvals in areas zoned for commercial, industrial or mixed-use activity. The Florida Senate lays out the statute. Hillsborough County has filed a declaratory action challenging parts of the law, according to legal filings and related analysis. Stearns Weaver Miller documents the county’s March 2026 filing, and those legal tensions could influence how the city applies its review standards and what final concessions developers agree to before any shovels hit the ground.
Next steps
The Lois Lofts proposal remains under city staff review and is subject to any required Live Local approvals. Construction timelines will not firm up until permits are issued and outstanding design and infrastructure questions are resolved. Tampa Bay Business & Wealth reports that city planners are evaluating the preliminary site and utility plans and points readers to the city’s ACA portal for the official record. We will continue to follow the application as it moves through the review process and update when detailed permit drawings and schedules are submitted.
