Your Luxury, Our Displacement: 8 Examples of Gentrification in Downtown St. Pete

For investors, entrepreneurs and transplants, the Sunshine City has become a land of opportunity and abundance. For workers and the poor – who have always struggled to survive here – the influx of wealth into the community has only brought greater adversity and scarcity.

With new homes and fancy high-rises going up all around, the wealthy have a plentiful selection of living spaces to choose from. Yet in the midst of this historic building boom, it seems like there is less and less selection available for working people.

According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), for every 100 renter households in the US who earn more than the median income, there is a surplus of 105 homes which are available and affordable at any given time. By comparison, for every 100 households earning less than half of the median income there are a mere 58 homes which are available and affordable to them.

In St. Pete, there are close to 12,000 renter households who earn less than half of the median income ($41,000/year). Of these tenants, 69% pay more than half of their income on rent. By comparison, less than 1% of renter households making at or above the median income ($82,100/year) spend this large of a share of income on rent.

The obvious solution would be to preserve, develop and expand access to publicly-owned housing for those with the greatest need – for poor and working people! Yet in a capitalist system, corporate profits and the needs of the rich take precedence over the needs of everybody else. This is why your rent is unaffordable and gentrification is spreading through downtown St. Pete as fast as the coronavirus.

We previously explored the way short-term rental services like Airbnb fuel our city's housing crisis by depleting affordable, working class housing stock (read more about it here). In this post we'll take a look at 8 recent examples of how our homes have been demolished or transformed to make way for luxury in downtown St. Pete:

511 3rd Ave S 

Four separate structures containing around 20 low-rent apartments were demolished in the summer of 2018. The land has sat empty now for over 5 years, though the city recently approved plans by a Chicago-based developer for a $72 million dollar, 22-story luxury residential tower. The land’s current owner, EquiAlt, recently found itself in hot water with the federal government for carrying out a multi-million dollar fraud scheme. After a little slap on the wrist & stern finger-wagging by Uncle Sam, EquiAlt stands to make millions of dollars gentrifying our community.

644 3rd Ave S

This 18-unit, working class apartment building was demolished in 2019 to make way for the Domus Urbana "refined condo residences". According to an SPTU member and former resident of 644, the developer convinced tenants to sign an addendum cancelling the terms of their lease agreements, then gave everybody 30 days to move out. This was home to many long term tenants including one man who had lived there for 20 years.

443 4th Ave N

Before it was converted into an actual hotel in 2015, the Avalon housed up to 50 working-class tenants until slumlord Terrance McCarthy sold the property to local hotel mogul Michael Andoniades. Tenants were kicked out, and the rooms now house wealthy tourists.

357 5th St S

A 110-year-old structure containing six apartments was demolished in 2020 to make way for a 5 story, "micro-unit" apartment building. Developer Brad Campbell said that because the building contained no parking, common areas or amenities like a pool, the prices would be "comparatively affordable". With rents starting at around $2,000 per month, it's slightly cheaper compared to some of the brand new luxury buildings downtown, but certainly far more expensive than what was there before.

532 & 536 4th Ave S

8 affordable units were demolished between 2016 and 2018 to make way for the Sabal St. Pete Townhomes – worth close to a million dollars apiece.

440 3rd Ave N 

A mass eviction took place leading up to the 2019 sale of a hundred-unit working class apartment complex located at the corner of 5th St N and 3rd Ave. Ault Global Real Estate Equities, a Las Vegas-based bitcoin miner, plans to erect a 23-story building containing luxury apartments. The developer has gleefully stated that the project will “transform the character of the neighborhood”. With several other luxury buildings planned nearby, Mirror Lake is indeed transforming from a working-class enclave to playground for the rich.

211 & 225 3rd St N - The Stanton

In October of 2021, slumlord Terrance McCarthy gave tenants at the historic Stanton Hotel and Apartments just 15 days to vacate their homes in order to make way for an expansion of the nearby Cordova Inn. Many of the residents were seniors on fixed incomes and service industry workers. The Stanton housed several long-term tenants, some of whom had lived there for over 20 years. These affordable apartments have now been demolished – a permanent loss of 49 affordable units in the heart of downtown.

720 Charles Court S

This past summer, Indiana-based developer White Peterman Properties Inc. purchased this 1-acre property which currently contains 16 working class homes and apartments. They plan to develop a 15-story luxury apartment building on the site.

As we prepare to ring in the new year, let's resolve to continue our struggle for housing justice! It may seem like the developers and landlords have the upper hand, but when tenants organize and fight these parasites don't stand a chance!

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