Affordable housing for the huddled masses who can no longer afford to buy a home due to the greed that created the crazy real estate market in St. Petersburg.

i agree with you cheryl... its true however, also i live down here and there really isnt anyroom for that. parking etc. the city council said to me they wanted st petes to be the nycity south. and that would certainly make it so. however in that block there is nothing there to build on... i am not sure where they are talking about.

We have enough buildings downtown that the affordability to build this would not help the locals who enjoy downtown St. Pete. Have we even sold the half a million or any of the million dollar condo's yet? We have so many towering over the downtown area right now that is becoming a mini metropolis for only the rich and fabulous? We already can't see the beaches due to the hotels, how do you propose we'll see this luxurious Pier that is going to cost us millions???

Maybe you missed the part where it says, "provide a welcome range of rental options for the downtown workforce." These aren't high end, market rents to assist workforce in living downtown, the best solution to urban sprawl (which caused most of the real estate bust) is having many housing options in a downtown core...this projects helps provide that...

I thought (until I read the other comments above) that this was great news! And, the location where this is wouldn't block the pier anymore than it's already going to be blocked. I'm not sure how many are you are unfamiliar with what a "downtown" city normally consists of? Tall buildings, mass amounts of people, loads of cafes and bars, and luxury condos mixed with large old houses turned into more affordable wood floor filled smaller sized apartments for the students and less wealthy. You make a compromise when you choose to live downtown and don't make a huge salary...you're giving up some of the luxury for an incredible area..tons to do outsides...beautiful scenery within walking distance..and more nightlife than anywhere else in pinellas county! Why are you complaining because another apartment building is going in? The reason the prices are so high for apartments right now is because of the lack of availability...a group of new apartment buildings going up at once may just provide an ease in rental prices. If you don't live downtown then it doesn't really matter your view on this..and if you do live downtown then you know more apartments is a good thing!

I am in the multi-family housing industry and I can tell you these new buildings are definitely needed. If you want to live anywhere close to downtown and don't make enough to live at the high end condo's, you are forced into Old NE or Crescent Lake. Both great areas but the apartments mainly consist of old buildings or garage style apartments. These generally do not offer many of today's modern amenities like central A/C and heat, modern kitchens with dishwashers and disposals, and the like. These will also be managed by major property management companies who have to obey fair housing practices, and adhere to laws governing apartment communities. I too live in Old NE and have for years because I like to be near downtown. Over the years I have put up with apartments that had no heat, old window A/C units costing a fortune to run, landlords who won't fix anything. I once went without an oven for 2 months. These apartment I speak of were not cheap compared to rents for modern apartments in other parts of the city upwards of a $1000 a month for a 1 br.
The people that will complain about new apartment buildings going into downtown are the same people that dislike the Grand Prix, complain of noise from Jannus Live or attempt to shut down outdoor dining because it is disruptive to their evening. We should be thankful in this economy that we have any new construction going on at all.... many areas of the country wish they had this problem.