CRA approves $3.5 million for Urban ReWorks Nebraska Avenue affordable housing; board asks city to seek remaining funds

The Tampa Community Redevelopment Agency board voted to provide a $3,500,000 subsidy to Urban ReWorks for a 20-unit affordable housing project on Nebraska Avenue, approving a compromise after extended debate over scoring criteria and how the agency should compare and prioritize projects.

The project team had requested $5,000,000 in CRA support; the East Tampa Community Advisory Committee and CRA staff recommended $2,000,000. After public comment from neighborhood residents, nonprofit leaders and the developer, the board approved $3,500,000 and asked city staff and City Council to pursue additional funding to fill the remaining gap.

The vote came after more than two hours of discussion about how the CRA evaluates proposals. Supporters said the project is a catalytic infill development that will add restricted affordable units quickly in an area with high housing need. The developer, Urban ReWorks, agreed at the board’s prior meeting to a long-term affordability commitment that includes two units at 30% AMI, six units at 50% AMI and 12 units at 80% AMI, with those restrictions tied to a 50-year restriction period.

Project proponents stressed the human toll of the housing shortage. “This project isn’t just another development, it’s a lifeline,” said Shelet Davis of Love, Inc., who described clients seeking housing assistance and the effect on people’s mental health. Several neighborhood residents and local groups — including the West Tampa CDC, Tampa Bay Economic Development Council and community association representatives — urged funding at the board meeting.

The developer’s counsel, David Singer, told the board the project could be brought online faster than many affordable projects and that the applicant had already put equity and predevelopment work into the pipeline. Urban ReWorks partner Mike Liberatore (Synthesis LLC) said the project does not qualify for Low Income Housing Tax Credits because it is smaller than typical tax-credit projects and explained underwriting constraints: the available construction loan and debt capacity are sized to the project’s restricted rents.

Staff and several board members framed the question as a test of competing priorities and methodology. Miss Parks, CRA community development coordinator, described the staff approach: a per-unit benchmark the CRA had proposed during earlier budget work (the staff cited a $100,000-per-unit figure as higher-than-normal but supportable based on construction costs and the CRA budget). The staff also ran a gap-analysis scenario that estimated the cumulative difference between market rents and restricted rents for the development over 50 years at roughly $20,000,000 — a figure used in the debate to show the long-term public subsidy implicit in deep affordability.

Board members cited both neighborhood support and fiscal constraints in the CRA housing allocation. Several members said they feared setting a precedent that would exhaust limited CRA housing funds for East Tampa and other pipeline projects. Others argued that the project’s corridor location and the 50-year affordability commitment justified a larger subsidy.

The final motion — for $3,500,000 from the CRA to the Urban ReWorks Nebraska Avenue project — carried on a roll-call vote. Board members recorded on the roll call as voting yes included Carlson, Miniscalco, Hertek and Viera; Miranda and Clendenin recorded no votes during an earlier roll sequence. (The transcript contains multiple roll calls during a complex amendment process; the board’s public minutes will include the certified vote tally.)

The board also asked staff to pursue additional funding sources, including existing HOME and housing-program funds and potential City Council options, to close the remaining financing gap. CRA leadership said they will explore multi-year encumbrance and other financing tools; staff noted that some CRA line items are already committed to other programs and that any reprogramming would be explicit and brought back to the board for approval.

The vote followed intense public comment. Supporters described the project as catalytic for Nebraska Avenue — a corridor residents and neighborhood leaders said has struggled with disinvestment, prostitution and open criminal activity — and urged prompt action. Several speakers urged that any changes to CRA scoring or policy be done through a transparent workshop and not used to delay applications that arrived under the existing rules.

Board members repeatedly stressed the need for a clearer, more objective matrix for comparing projects so future applicants and the community understand how CRA funds are awarded. Multiple members asked staff to return with a workshop that clarifies whether the CRA will evaluate projects on a “first-in” basis or by comparative scoring, how to treat donated land or other noncash contributions in subsidy calculations and whether to use construction-cost benchmarks or long-term gap analyses for subsidy requests.

The board’s action authorizes staff to implement the $3,500,000 subsidy agreement and to continue to seek additional public financing to fill the balance; staff will return with details on multi-year encumbrance, any needed budget reprogramming and statutory steps required for City Council consideration.

Local officials and community leaders at the meeting described the vote as a compromise that moves the project forward while continuing the board’s work to formalize evaluation criteria for future CRA awards.

Ending: The CRA’s approval clears the way for Urban ReWorks to proceed toward construction financing and permits; the developer said construction could begin quickly once the capital stack is complete. The board directed staff to return with a clearer scoring and funding workshop for the CRA’s affordable housing pipeline so future applications can be judged against a consistent, transparent standard.