Affordable Rental Housing Grant Program

The Affordable Rental Housing Program (ARHP) is administered by the City of St. Petersburg through its Housing and Community Development Department using funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery program. These funds were appropriated by Congress to address recovery needs following Hurricanes Idalia and Helene, with a focus on restoring and expanding affordable housing in areas designated as most impacted and distressed. The City has been allocated funding under a broader disaster recovery action plan and is implementing ARHP through a competitive Request for Applications process to distribute funds to qualified developers. The primary purpose of the program is to address the unmet housing needs of low- and moderate-income renters whose housing stability has been affected by recent disasters. The program supports the development of multifamily affordable rental housing through new construction, substantial rehabilitation, or conversion of existing structures. To qualify, projects must ensure that at least 51 percent of units are reserved for households earning at or below 80 percent of the Area Median Income. The program also aims to improve housing resilience, accessibility, and long-term affordability while complying with federal housing and disaster recovery requirements. Funding under the program is substantial, with approximately forty-two million dollars available for allocation. Individual awards are capped at fifteen million dollars per development, with a maximum subsidy of one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars per assisted unit. Exceptions to the cap may be considered if applicants demonstrate that additional funding is necessary due to documented disaster-related damage. Funds are provided in the form of deferred forgivable loans, which may require repayment if program terms are violated. Eligible uses include acquisition, construction, engineering, permitting, relocation, and other development-related costs, while ineligible uses include operating expenses, equipment purchases, and pre-award costs. Eligible applicants include for-profit entities, nonprofit organizations, and public housing authorities with demonstrated experience in affordable housing development. Applicants must be legally registered in Florida, in good standing with tax obligations, and not debarred from federal programs. Additional requirements include site control for new construction projects, a minimum of ten units per development, and compliance with federal regulations such as environmental review, labor standards, and fair housing laws. Projects must also maintain affordability for a minimum of thirty years, secured through recorded restrictions. The application process is conducted through the City’s Neighborly system, and applicants must request access prior to submission. Required components include detailed development plans, financial documentation, site control evidence, and potentially a capital needs assessment for rehabilitation projects. A mandatory pre-application conference was held prior to the application period, and applicants were required to participate. Questions could be submitted during a designated period, with responses published publicly. Applications must be complete and submitted by the stated deadline to be considered. Applications are evaluated through a structured review process that includes threshold and technical criteria. Threshold requirements ensure eligibility and completeness, while technical scoring assesses developer capacity, financial feasibility, readiness to proceed, alignment with housing priorities, and service to special populations. Projects that provide deeper affordability or serve vulnerable populations may receive higher priority. The review process includes scoring, committee deliberations, an appeals period, and final approval by the City Council. The timeline for the program includes an application period opening in May and closing in June, followed by evaluation, deliberation, and award decisions extending through September. The program is not explicitly recurring, and funding is tied to disaster recovery allocations with a defined expenditure period. Developers must complete projects within specified timelines and adhere to reporting and compliance requirements throughout the affordability period. Contact with program administrators is restricted during the application period except through designated channels, ensuring fairness and transparency in the evaluation process.

Prioritize readiness to proceed, strong financial feasibility, and deeper affordability commitments; ensure compliance with all threshold criteria; demonstrate experience with federal housing requirements