Writer: Sara Suarez
2 min read December 2021 — A new housing program for the homeless was launched on Monday in the city of Tampa. The Hope Cottages community will house 300 people when operating at full capacity. At the other end of the scale, this year, Tampa has been rated among the Top 5 real estate markets in the country in a PwC study.
As home prices continue to soar, sparking the need for more affordable housing, it begs the question: Top 5 for whom?
The residents of Hope Cottages will have access to food, clothes, transportation, education, employment and benefits assistance, substance abuse and mental health counseling, basic medical care, and case management services. Fifty residents reside in the facilities, which opened on Dec. 13.
According to an official press release, the Cottages are not only environmentally friendly, they are also easy to clean, mold and mildew resistant, have electric outlets and resist winds up to 157 miles per hour, as fast as a Category 5 hurricane. They are the outcome of a partnership, called Tampa Hope, between Catholic Charities and the city of Tampa.
“It’s great to see Tampa booming with economic growth and luxury development, but the Tampa City Council and I firmly believe that this city’s success depends on improving the quality of life for every Tampa resident no matter their current economic status. Tampa Hope will improve and save lives,” said Mayor Jane Castor, who also attended the opening ceremony to cut the ribbon and officially begin operations.
The event highlights a pressing issue for most cities across the country: housing affordability. Tampa is in a post-pandemic environment that is seeing a shortage of labor, materials and land. The result is a “major issue,” according to Jerome Ryans, the president and CEO of the Tampa Housing Authority. “The lack of enough affordable housing units for our community” and “the needs in the community far exceed the dollars allocated to address affordable housing,” he told Invest: Tampa 2021.
As prices continue to rise in Tampa, it is leaving many in an uncomfortable position. According to Headwaters Economics, Pinellas County was already unaffordable pre-COVID, and that has only intensified. Housing prices have increased by over 23% in less than a year. The skyrocketing values are also having an impact beyond homebuyers. Rent is also increasing drastically. Tampa was No. 3 among U.S: cities whose rent has increased the most year-over-year, according to Realtor’s Monthly Rental Report.
Castor has made it a priority to deliver housing affordability to the city of Tampa, not just by opening homeless communities but by tackling the problem from every angle. She established the Transforming Tampa’s Tomorrow Advisory Teams in 2019. According to the official website, the teams “focus on key issues facing the city,” and their main goal is to “find smart solutions to improve the quality of life for our community.” Besides increasing housing supply and programming, the advisory teams focus on policy alignment and community outreach and engagement.
The lack of affordable housing is a pandemic of its own. Since Transforming Tampa’s Tomorrow kicked off over two years ago, the city of Tampa has invested over $25 million in housing affordability, but there is still significant work to be done. According to the website for Housing Affordability Recommendations, the plan includes revising zoning and land use regulations. This revision will provide more multifamily and studio apartments and higher density in certain parts of the city. Additionally, the plan seeks to incentivize the development of more workforce and mixed-use development while improving regional transit mobility.
