The Challenge
Jordan Park, the oldest public housing project in Florida, was built in 1939. Its campus style site design with deteriorated buildings turned inward away from the street and parking lots and trash dumpsters lining the periphery of the site, created large areas of unclaimed land with “no eyes on the street”.
The Plan
To transform the property into an attractive, traditional neighborhood for mixed-income families that would be seamlessly integrated into the surrounding community.
Financing
- HUD HOPE VI Grant
- $13,000,000
- Direct Subsidy Loan from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta
- $500,000
- CDBG from the City of St. Petersburg
- $3,100,000
- Private equity from the sale of Low Income Housing Tax Credits
- $11,500,000
Results
The new Jordan Park community, which looks and feels like single family housing, has been physically, economically and socially revived and integrated into its surrounding community. Using the “big house” concept, local stakeholders, including public housing residents, elected officials, city planners and others created a “new urbanist” master plan that replaced the 429 deteriorated, barrack-like housing units with 105 new Arts and Craft style buildings characteristic of the grand architecture of St. Petersburg’s finest communities. There are 10 building types with 237 apartments, each with its own street address, entryway, front porch, back door, parking space, rear yard and trash collection.
A grand entry way to the property and a central park were created by preserving and highlighting the existing magnificent Live Oak trees. A storm water management pond was used to create a visual amenity for the property. This pond, with a central fountain, is located adjacent to the new community building that houses a library, a computer center, a leasing office, and a wellness center. An active resident service program and a Hewlett Packard/Magic Johnson Inventor Center are located in the Center. The Resident Service Coordinator provides case management for residents and creates linkages with local human service programs at the adjacent One Stop Achievement Center. The site also boasts an African American History Museum.
The redevelopment of Jordan Park has been an outstanding success. Today, Jordan Park is a stable well designed, functioning community that is integrated into the surrounding community.