Westminster Communities of Florida is seeking roughly $191 million in financing to fund new construction and renovations at senior living campuses across the state, including five properties scattered around St. Petersburg and Bradenton. The nonprofit's plan touches everything from new apartment buildings to memory care centers, though it hasn't said how the money will be divided among the Tampa Bay sites, how many new units will ultimately be built, or when any of the work will actually start.
The Florida Local Government Finance Commission was scheduled to weigh in Tuesday, considering final authorization for up to $250 million in bonds, according to Tampa Bay Business and Wealth. That approval would follow preliminary financing approval Westminster received in September, with the nonprofit targeting bond pricing the week of November 2 and a closing the week of December 7 — both subject to remaining approvals and financing conditions. The bonds would be repaid by Westminster's affiliated nonprofit organizations, with no pledge of state or local tax revenues, per the same outlet.
What's Changing at the St. Petersburg Campuses
Westminster Shores, at 125 56th Avenue South, would receive two apartment buildings containing new and replacement residential units along with a replacement assisted living facility, with construction planned on both sides of Bahama Shores Drive South between 56th and 57th avenues. At Westminster Suncoast on Pinellas Point Drive South, the plan calls for a new memory care center built next to the campus's existing health center. Westminster Palms, near downtown St. Petersburg on Beach Drive Northeast, would add new residential apartments and convert existing skilled nursing units into assisted living accommodations, the report notes.
Bradenton's Two Properties Face Different Paths
In Bradenton, Westminster Point Pleasant plans to build a residential apartment building and common area between its existing structures, along with broader renovations and infrastructure improvements across the property. Nearby, Westminster Manor at 1700 21st Avenue West — which opened in 1961 — would get infrastructure replacements and other upgrades rather than new units. The financing would also reach beyond Tampa Bay, supporting improvements at Westminster properties in Orlando, Winter Park, Tallahassee, Jacksonville and St. Augustine.
Westminster Point Pleasant's expansion plans are also tangled in a legal fight. Last year, the Bradenton City Council approved ordinances raising density and height allowances for the property, increasing the allowable units across Westminster's holdings by 137 and clearing the way for the 16-acre site to grow to as many as 537 units, according to the Bradenton Herald. At the time, Westminster representatives said they planned to add 30 to 40 units in the short term, with 100 to 180 more envisioned long-term, and the approved plan allows up to 10 habitable stories atop two stories of parking.
Lawsuit Challenges the Rezoning
That density increase is now being contested in court. Protect the Point Inc., along with residents Clare Ward and Jonathan Chalker, filed suit against the City of Bradenton and Presbyterian Retirement Communities Inc., challenging the city's approval of the higher building density and seeking to invalidate it so the process would restart, the Bradenton Herald reported in a separate article. The suit alleges the city failed to show that public infrastructure could support the added density and that the approval process violated due process, though it challenges only the rezoning ordinance itself and not the related comprehensive plan or future land use map amendments. If the plaintiffs prevail, Westminster would have to go through Bradenton's approval process again to secure the density change.
The Point Pleasant property spans 13 parcels totaling 15.9 acres and currently functions as a continuing care retirement community with independent living, assisted living and skilled nursing facilities, according to the Herald-Tribune. The density change is meant to support a 136-unit expansion and renewal of existing facilities. As of 2023 records, the community offered around 794 units, including 389 independent living, 159 assisted living, 179 skilled nursing and 67 rental units.
A Decades-Old Nonprofit Expanding Amid Rising Demand
Westminster Communities of Florida, founded in 1954, now operates 11 continuing care retirement communities through affiliated nonprofit organizations, with roughly 3,805 residential, assisted living and skilled nursing units serving more than 4,000 residents statewide. The organization has historically grown by acquiring and improving existing communities rather than building entirely new campuses from scratch.
The push comes as senior housing demand climbs nationally. Occupancy improved for the 20th consecutive quarter to 89.9 percent in the second quarter of 2026, with stabilized occupancy hitting 90.4 percent, according to Multi-Housing News. That outlet also reports the U.S. population aged 80 and above is projected to grow 36.6 percent over the next decade to 19 million. Elsewhere in Florida, Green Cay Life Plan Village Inc. recently started construction on The Winsberg at Green Cay, a $380 million, 221-unit continuing care community in Boynton Beach slated to open in fall 2028.
