"Having PolicyMap is a huge time saver, it is current and up to date, and makes a world of difference." – Danielle Thomas, Senior Vice President/Chief Operating Officer
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Challenge

St. Petersburg Housing Authority provides affordable housing through three housing programs, Public Housing, Affordable Housing, and Housing Choice Vouchers. Collectively, these programs provide housing opportunities for approximately 4,000 low-income households in St. Petersburg, FL. In 2023, SPHA purchased the former Ed White Hospital with plans to relocate its administrative offices to the new development, bringing the organization closer to the people it serves. The property’s ample space presented an exciting opportunity for the SPHA to explore its potential to double as a housing site. To transform a portion of the former hospital into affordable housing and secure project funding, SPHA needed to demonstrate compliance with HUD guidelines. However, gathering the necessary data to validate the eligibility of the hospital's census tract proved to be challenging. Amidst the time-intensive struggle to obtain accurate and current data from the U.S. Census and ACS websites, SPHA began searching for solutions, eventually discovering PolicyMap.

Solution

PolicyMap provides SPHA with essential data and visualizations needed to secure additional funding for their hospital rehabilitation project. Armed with PolicyMap's insights on poverty, minority concentration, New Market Tax Credit eligibility, and other critical information, SPHA confidently pursued HUD project-based vouchers and other external funding opportunities, while also enhancing communication with board members and stakeholders. The SPHA’s project to transform the Edward White Hospital site into a multi-story affordable housing complex is now underway. The renovated six-story, 121,000-square-foot building will feature 71 apartments for low-income seniors, as well as professional office space for SPHA employees. PolicyMap remains an indispensable asset for SPHA as they explore new locations for acquisition. Accurate and up-to-date neighborhood demographics essential for meeting program guidelines, such as minority and poverty concentration, subsidized housing availability, vacancy rates, access to grocery stores, and area median income, are readily available to their team. With SPHA’s focus on voucher flexibilities to increase affordable housing, it is crucial to have PolicyMap as a tool to swiftly and accurately check locations to ensure they meet program criteria from HUD.