PCHA’s New Pinellas Heights Community Receives National Green Building Standard SILVER Award!

Pinellas County Housing Authority’s new Pinellas Heights senior community has received the National Green Building Standard SILVER Award! 

 The NGBS certification provides independent, third-party verification that an apartment building is designed and built to achieve high performance in six key areas: Site Design, Resource Efficiency, Water Efficiency, Energy Efficiency, Indoor Environmental Quality, and Building Operation & Maintenance.  “This accomplishment is one more step taken toward meeting PCHA’s strategic goal of implementing green initiatives,” said Debbie Johnson, PCHA’s executive director.  Accreditation is a direct result of the hard work and dedication of our developer partner, Norstar Development USA, LP.

Funding for the $24 million development was provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Housing Finance Authority of Pinellas County, Pinellas County Community Development, City of Largo, Norstar Development USA, LP, RBC Capital Markets, JP Morgan Chase and the Pinellas County Housing Authority.  The Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta also provided a $1 million Affordable Housing Program grant to the project.

“Congratulations to all PCHA Pinellas Heights partners on successfully completing a beautiful, energy-efficient, and sustainable housing community for low-income seniors” said Joseph Triolo, PCHA’s Board Chairman.

The Pinellas County Housing Authority is a HUD designated High Performing Agency and was named the Florida Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials 2012 Housing Authority of the Year.  As the largest housing authority in Pinellas County, PCHA owns and operates over 1000 units of non-subsidized affordable rentals, in addition to Federally subsidized rentals and rental subsidies, providing  housing opportunities for over 8,000 county individuals. PCHA’s focus is on providing affordable housing through the development, ownership, and management of properties, and administration of rental assistance programs.  For more information about PCHA, visit www.pinellashousing.com

Norstar Development USA, LP has been involved as lead developer in more than twenty (20) separate mixed-finance/mixed-income public housing authority transactions.  Norstar’s first Florida project (in partnership with the Punta Gorda Housing Authority), Gulf Breeze Apartments, was recognized as the National Winner of the Charles L. Edson award for public housing revitalization by the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition as well as being the featured project in the November 2008 issue of Novogradac’s “Journal of Tax Credit Housing”.  Norstar has completed or is in the process of developing or constructing over 2,300 mixed-finance multifamily and senior units and has over 1200 more units in various stages of construction and development with housing authorities in New York, Michigan, Florida and Alabama.