Habitat for Humanity Tampa Bay Gulfside broke ground Thursday, Oct. 15, on 26 townhomes at Lealman Heights, part of a planned community of 57 affordable homes going up across the street from Lealman Elementary School. The project calls for 31 single-family homes along with 26 townhomes, giving qualifying families a path to zero-down, zero-interest homeownership in a county where affordable housing has been scarce for years.
The nonprofit marked the start of construction on the townhome development with a groundbreaking ceremony. The 26 townhomes are planned for a 1.74-acre parcel at 4000 58th Avenue North, at the corner of 58th Avenue North and 40th Street North, according to St. Pete Rising. As reported by tbbwmag.com, the nonprofit marked the start of construction with the Thursday ceremony.
Homes were under construction by August 2026. The 26 townhomes themselves are expected to begin construction in early 2027, the outlet's report notes. The Housing Finance Authority of Pinellas County acquired the properties in 2016, and the planned community covers nearly six acres.
Who Qualifies, and What They'll Pay
Lealman Heights is intended for families earning between 30% and 80% of the area median income, according to St. Pete Catalyst. Those who are accepted must complete 38 homebuyer education classes and log between 350 and 450 hours of sweat equity before closing, the same report from St. Pete Rising's site states. In exchange, buyers receive a fixed-rate mortgage with a 0% interest rate, no down payment and no private mortgage insurance required, according to signage posted at the site and shared in the county's groundbreaking photos.
Prospective applicants can reach Habitat for Humanity Tampa Bay Gulfside at 727-536-4755 or apply directly through the nonprofit's website. The homes will also be built to withstand Florida's increasingly intense storm seasons: a $50,000 grant from Community Foundation Tampa Bay will fund impact-rated windows, hurricane-rated garage doors and truss straps, according to St. Pete Catalyst.
How the Project Is Funded
The $10 million project draws support from Penny for Pinellas funds. Pinellas County is contributing $2.29 million in Penny for Pinellas funds toward that total, according to the St. Pete Rising report. The dossier's record of earlier coverage shows some inconsistency in how the project has been described over time: a 2023 account from St. Pete Rising referred to an 86-unit affordable apartment project called Lealman Heights, funded with $2 million and intended for households making at or below 80% AMI, a different framing than the 57-home, single-family-and-townhome plan now underway.
A Drop in a Much Bigger Bucket
The Lealman groundbreaking lands amid a regional housing crunch that local officials describe in stark terms. The Tampa Bay region has a shortage of 80,000 housing units, according to Xavier Oliver, as reported by Bay News 9. Habitat for Humanity builds 80 to 90 affordable housing units each year, Oliver said, while the Pinellas County Housing Authority has said the county would need 1,000 new affordable units annually for a decade just to meet existing demand, per the same Bay News 9 report.
The Housing Authority does have other projects in the pipeline, with plans to open seven properties totaling 800 units over the next 18 months, according to Bay News 9. Habitat for Humanity Tampa Bay Gulfside has several other developments moving through various stages nearby. The nonprofit recently completed the Shell Dash Townhomes in St. Petersburg's Campbell Park neighborhood and is preparing to break ground on the 40-unit Pelican Place townhome community across from Tangerine Plaza, according to St. Pete Rising. The first Pelican Place units are expected to be completed by early 2027, with residents paying no more than 30% of their income toward housing, per Bay News 9.
Habitat is also continuing work on the 54-unit Longlake Preserve townhome project in Largo and plans to build 100 more townhomes on Wyatt Street in Largo starting this year, on the site of a former First Assembly of God church, according to St. Pete Rising's reporting. Together, the projects represent a steady, if incremental, push against a housing gap that local officials say will take sustained investment to close.
