Mayor Rick Kriseman (center, in tie) and nonprofit CEO Lew Schulman cut a ceremonial ribbon.
BY KARLANA JUNE
NNB Student Reporter
ST. PETERSBURG – The streets are quiet. Moisture hangs heavy in the morning air and dark clouds loom on the horizon. Many houses in this neighborhood are dilapidated, their paint peeling, their yards neglected.
A small group gathers in front of a humble blue and yellow house. Its windows are boarded up, and a stale stench wafts out the open door. Mayor Rick Kriseman stands on the steps, flanked by local dignitaries. Three police officers and a representative from the sheriff’s office casually look on from a distance.
What is so special about this unassuming little house at 4200 14th Ave. S?
It is one of 68 houses in the city’s Midtown and Childs Park neighborhoods that a nonprofit called Builders of Hope bought earlier this year from Fort Lauderdale’s Dalland Properties. Some of the houses will be renovated and sold to low-income families. Some rehabbed homes will provide affordable, safe rentals.
The North Carolina-based organization is a national leader in affordable housing and urban renewal. Its plans coincide with the city’s drive for housing upgrades in pockets of poverty – a campaign promise of the new mayor.
Kriseman joined City Council member Karl Nurse and Builders of Hope officials on June 11 for a ribbon-cutting ceremony and optimistic talk about things to come.
“My goal is that everyone has a safe place to live,” said Kriseman.
Builders of Hope has dedicated nearly $2 million to this project, between $24,000 and $26,000 for each renovation. Three homes have already been rehabbed, and the goal is to complete the rest in the next four months. All the work is done by local contractors and builders, using local materials.
The little blue house on 14th Avenue will get a new roof, an efficient heating and cooling system, new flooring and, of course, a new paint job. Built in 1940, the 836-square-foot home has three bedrooms and one bath. The frame molding around the front door has character, with a diamond centered at the top.
The partnership between the nonprofit and the city began about a year ago, with the instrumental efforts of Nurse growing from a conversation and a dream.
“This couldn’t have happened without the mayor,” said Nurse. “The future (of this neighborhood) is better because of this.”
There is hope that other nonprofit and for-profit organizations will soon be working on similar projects in the same vicinity, creating a better place for low-income residents to call home.
“We want to support the local community,” said Katie Spalding, the sales and property management director at Builders of Hope. “There is a sense of pride, when a local builder can drive by one of these homes and say, ‘I worked on that house!’”