LARGO, Fla. (WFTS) — Along S. MLK Jr. Ave. in Largo, there's a construction site that will address a massive need in the county; housing.
Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas and West Pasco Counties is building a 54-unit townhome community called Longlake Preserve in Largo.
But not everyone is on board with the idea. One person reached out to ABC Action News with the question: Why is Habitat for Humanity no longer offering single-family homes?
We took that question to their CEO, Mike Sutton.
"If there's one consistency that I've dealt with in my entire career with Habitat, which is spanning 15 years now, has been misperceptions, right?," he said. "Now that we're getting into multi-family home development, it seems like there are some misperceptions out there that all we're doing is townhomes. And that's not the case. I would say, as we move into 2025, next year, we'll probably be in about a 50-50 split."
In the coming years, they will work on both types of housing, although the selection process may be tougher to get a single-family home.
"We only have so much property in our land bank. And right now it's all property that will be built over the next, probably year or 2 that are gonna be town homes. That doesn't include the 40 families that we have matched with a single-family property, that we haven't started construction on their home yet," he said. "As property becomes affordable, or property gets presented to us, we will always take a look at it, and we will try our best purchase property that is, single family homes."
Sutton explained the transition into multi-family housing comes from a need to adapt to the times.
"There are just simply some areas of the community that we will not be able to build single family homes moving forward based on cost. In addition to that, I think that there's a lot of thoughts that we can build more on property if we're doing multifamily," he added.
Sutton said Pinellas County's density is also a big issue aside from the cost.
"Pinellas County is the most densely populated county in the State. And so, in order for us to continue to build and continue to build at a significant level, we do have to look at other options than just a single family home," he added.
Yet, that's not appealing for those who are ready to move into a house, not a building with a shared wall.
"The townhome option, I think, is ideal for families who, you know, may not have the time to invest in the exterior of their house, right? So, having an HOA that handles the lawn and the maintenance and the upkeep is of benefit," he said.
This is a new idea for Habitat, which has for decades been known for building houses.
In order to further explain just what a townhome would mean for applicants, the group held a meeting last week. In attendance, about 40 people are currently approved into the program and awaiting an opportunity to pick where they will live.
"We did talk a lot about the shared wall concept a lot of times. Folks have a harder time wrapping their hands around owning a townhome because there are shared walls. I've lived in a townhome for nearly 15 years. I prefer that townhome living," Sutton said.
The need for housing, whether its rented or owned is crucial in Pinellas County and throughout the state. William Kilgore has spent years fighting for more help.
"There's no excuse that every single person shouldn't have stable housing in the United States," he said.
Kilgore supports Habitat for Humanity's commitment to filling the need. However, he sees a scary trend emerging with some of the other townhome and apartment projects in the works.
"Anytime the city is partnering with private entities, you know, it's totally inefficient. Especially when the private entity is a for-profit company. That's a big problem because we're not getting the most bang for our buck," he added.
Kilgore continues to push for the city to build and own affordable housing options. He pointed to incentives that allows developers to only offer a portion of the units as affordable, while also only having to rent the units as affordable for a fixed amount of time.
"The biggest issue that we take with it is, you know, they're negotiating these terms, where you have this very short period of affordability, you know, 10 years, 15 years," Kilgore said. "At that point, they can be jacked up to market rate. You look at the income threshold is very, very high, you know, and so certain people are going to be locked out at these opportunities."
And that's just another element behind why so many are interested in Habitat for Humanity, where home ownership is at the forefront.
Sutton stressed that supply does play a role at the moment. He said smaller or single-parent households may be more well suited for the townhomes, but it all depends on a deeper understanding of each person's desires and needs.
"If a family is adamant about living in a specific community, the only option that they may have is a townhome. But it's it's all a case by case basis," Sutton said.
