Summit Aims To Bring More Affordable Housing To Pinellas County

PINELLAS COUNTY, FL — Pinellas County and Forward Pinellas are bringing together industry leaders, elected officials, policymakers, planners, businesses, nonprofits and residents for a series of discussions on creating and sustaining more homes that are affordable.

The Homes for Pinellas Virtual Summit series aims to address the dramatic rise in home prices in recent years as an influx of new people move here to live and work.

The Zoom series runs through Dec. 11.

The series will cover current housing supply and demand, innovative financing solutions used by developers and local governments, the link between homes, employment and transportation, and resources for creating more homes that are affordable.

The goal of the summit is to coordinate a countywide affordable housing strategy to improve the lives of current and future residents.

The series opened Friday with keynote speaker Dr. Tiffany Manuel, president and CEO of TheCaseMade, who discussed building better, stronger communities that are diverse, equitable and inclusive by building public will to make systems change.

The summit follows the county’s recent announcement of an $80-million fund dedicated to expanding affordable housing over the next decade.

The Penny for Pinellas Affordable Housing Program uses revenue from the voter approved 1 percent sales tax with public and private investment to preserve and develop more affordable housing.

The county dedicated 8.3 percent of the Penny for Pinellas renewal from 2020-2030 toward affordable housing land acquisition and economic development capital projects, based on broad public input and the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners' long-term commitment to preserve and build homes accessible to all residents.

In the past 10 years, the county has supported development and preservation of more than 2,900 affordable housing units through a combination of local, state and federal partnerships.

Expanding housing that’s affordable has consistently been ranked as a top priority by Pinellas County residents through surveys and other forms of public input.

Program information can be found here.

Related stories:

• $80M From Penny For Pinellas Available To Expand Pinellas Affordable Housing
• Pinellas Celebrates Opening Of Affordable Apartment Complex