Clearwater hotels converted to workforce housing set for first tenants
A pair of hotels being converted to workforce and affordable housing in a high-traffic Clearwater corridor are set to welcome their first residents this week.
The Pelican Lake Apartments, a new 183-unit complex at 13200 49th St. N, will host an open house event from 1:30 pm. to 4:30 p.m. Friday, where prospective renters can tour the property.
It’s a new type of project for Miami investors Eagle Property Capital, which is running the apartments on the site of the former TownePlace Suites by Marriott St. Petersburg Clearwater and Residence Inn Marriott St. Petersburg Clearwater. Normally, the firm purchases existing apartment complexes like Tampa’s Captiva Club and St. Petersburg’s Gateway on 4th.
Converting the hotels to a single apartment community was an effort that began long before Eagle Property bought the hotels for $20.5 million in May with backing from Mexican private equity firm Promecap. The land had to be rezoned from commercial to multifamily, and developers had to purchase an adjacent retention pond in order to reach the necessary density per acre.
“There is a shortage of housing that we’re going to be providing relatively quickly in this particular gateway because of the amount of employees and companies,” said Humberto Cubillos, senior vice president of asset management for Eagle Property Capital. “There’s a shortage of housing, and then we have a net migration from other cities and states that have been migrating into Florida in the past year and a half, which has created additional pent-up demand.”
Eagle Property has spent $3.5 million on renovations, including to the areas near the retention pond, purchased for $60,000 last year. The developers intend to build a dog park and public area around the ponds.
“It was there, but nobody really owned it, which is also a win for the city of Pinellas Park, because now we’re going to be taking care of maintenance of the lake and proper management of the water,” Cubillos said. “It’s a beautiful amenity for our complex, and also for the public.”
Developers have also carved out 4,000 square feet for a grocery or convenience store fronting Ulmerton Road.
Combined, the properties have 183 studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments, with studios starting at 360 square feet at $1,075 per month, and two-bedrooms starting at 590 square feet for $1,565. That’s well below Tampa Bay’s median asking rent of $2,188 in May, according to real estate brokerage Redfin.
Eight units will be classified as affordable housing; the rest are considered workforce housing. Aside from the affordable units, whose rental rates have some legal caps, the housing will be priced at a market rate, Cubillos said.
“Given the shortages of rentals and housing in the Tampa-Clearwater metropolitan area, there are probably going to be some rental increases,” he said.
In the early going, though, the apartment has signed leases with about six new residents per week, indicating to Cubillos that the pricing in this market is competitive.
“We believe the demand is there,” he said.
