SKN | St. Petersburg Developer Adds Affordable Housing to 1663 1st Ave. S. Project

A St. Petersburg residential development is being revised to incorporate affordable housing without increasing the project’s planned unit count. BendinRoad Development’s Residences at 1663, located at 1663 1st Ave. S., was previously approved as a 13-story, 120-unit tower divided between short-term rentals and conventional apartments.

The revised plan retains 120 units but introduces a substantial affordable-housing component, illustrating how developers are adapting project structures to access available financial incentives while maintaining the underlying development program.

The Public Assumption

The addition of affordable housing could be interpreted as a major expansion of the project’s residential capacity. In this case, however, the total number of apartments remains unchanged.

The original proposal called for 60 short-term rental units and 60 standard apartments. Under the revised plan, 48 of the 120 units will instead be designated as affordable housing for households earning at or below 80% of area median income.

The change therefore affects the composition and eligibility of the housing rather than the overall number of homes being built.

The Economic Breakdown

Pinellas County’s median family income is cited at $104,700. The affordable units will serve households at or below 80% of that area’s median income, although the source does not provide the resulting income limits or expected rents for the individual apartments.

The developer is pursuing the change to qualify for various financial incentives. The revision demonstrates how the economics of a multifamily development can be influenced not only by market rents and construction costs but also by public programs tied to affordability.

Keeping the unit count at 120 also means the developer is modifying the project’s economic structure without expanding its planned residential footprint.

The apartments will continue to range from studios through two-bedroom layouts, with each unit measuring less than 750 square feet. The relatively compact floorplans allow the project to maintain its original residential program within the planned high-rise configuration.

The Hidden Picture

The physical design of the project is largely unchanged. A 13th-floor amenity deck is planned with a swimming pool, fitness center, and co-working space, while the architectural and engineering teams remain in place.

Bold Line Design is serving as architect, with Kimley-Horn responsible for civil engineering and landscape architecture. Nicholas & Associates is the general contractor.

The project’s next major variable is execution. Construction is currently planned to begin in the first quarter of 2027, meaning the revised financing and incentive structure will need to support the project through the construction period.

The source does not provide the project’s total development cost, financing structure, construction budget, or the specific incentives being pursued. Those details will be important for evaluating how the affordable-housing revision affects overall project feasibility.

Closing

The more important question for St. Petersburg’s housing supply is whether revisions like Residences at 1663 can make affordable units financially viable at scale—or whether developers will remain dependent on project-specific incentives to produce them.