City now taking applications for South St. Pete 2017 CRA Grants

ST. PETERSBURG – The City of St. Petersburg is now accepting applications for the 2017 cycle of its South St. Petersburg CRA Grant Program to help support private investment in the South St. Petersburg Community Redevelopment Area (CRA). The deadline to submit a grant application is June 16.

Last Thursday, St. Petersburg City Council approved the FY2017 budget amounts for the CRA, as recommended by the CRA Citizen Advisory Committee. The approved amounts include nearly $412,000 for programs such as commercial site improvement grants and commercial building interior and tenant improvement grants; $50,000 for commercial revitalization programs and nearly $122,000 for housing and neighborhood revitalization including multi-family residential property improvement grants.

The CRA Grant Program was created in 2015 as part of the city’s innovative, 30-year revitalization plan for south St. Pete designed to help boost private investment in commercial and multi-family residential development in the area. The CRA is generally located between Fourth Street and 49th Street, from Second Avenue North to 30th Avenue South.

Applications must be delivered to the Planning and Economic Development Department, located on the ninth floor of the Municipal Services Center, at One Fourth Street North in downtown St. Petersburg by 5 p.m. on Friday, June 16.

In advance of the grant application deadline, city administration is offering workshops in various locations and satellite office hours at the Enoch Davis Center and Childs Park YMCA to assist with preparing the application. Dates and hours:

2017 CRA TIF Grant Workshops

• May 11, 5:30 to 7 p.m.  @ The Greenhouse/ City Hall Annex, 440 Second Ave. N.

• May 18, 6:30 to 8 p.m. @ Enoch Davis Center, 1111 18th Ave. S.

• May 24, 6 to 7:30 pm @ The Greenhouse/City Hall Annex, 440 Second Ave. N.

• Satellite Office Hours at the Enoch Davis Center, 1111 18th Ave. S., are 1 to 5 p.m. on Wednesdays, May 10, May 24 and June 7.

• Satellite Office Hours at the Childs Park YMCA, 691 43rd St. S., will be on Wednesdays, May 17, May 31 and June 14, from 1 to 5 p.m.

The CRA staff contact is Anthony Chan, Economic Development Specialist in the Planning and Economic Development Department. He can be reached at 727-551-3279 or tony.chan@stpete.org.

In addition to CRA TIF-funded housing programs that are limited to multi-family properties (three or more units), the city offers various options to help improve single-family homes such as Rebates for Residential Rehabs, emergency and/or basic home repair loans, and accessibility improvements.

And for low income, elderly or disabled residents, the Neighborhood Team offers help renovating single family homes, providing exterior painting, carpentry, access ramps, minor plumbing repairs and other eligible services. To learn more about these other programs, call the City’s Housing and Community Development Department, 727-893-7247.

For more information, contact the city’s CRA Coordinator Rick Smith, at 727-893-7106 or visit www.stpete.org/CRA.