Bay Area Apartment Association Names Three Pinellas County Housing Authority Communities “2013 Community of the Year”

The Bay Area Apartment Association recently named three
residential communities owned and managed by the Pinellas County Housing Authority (PCHA) as “2013 Community of the Year”.

Norton Apartments at Lake Bellevue, located at 1450 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. S. in Clearwater, won the 2013 Major Rehab Community of the Year.  The community won first place among those rehabbed properties with less than 150 units.  Norton was purchased out of bankruptcy by PCHA in 2011 when the property was unsafe and in a state of complete disrepair. Through partnerships with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Housing Finance Authority of Pinellas County, the City of Clearwater, the U.S. Department of Energy, Gulfcoast Legal Services, Carlton Fields, P.A., and the residents themselves, the Pinellas County Housing Authority has done much needed renovation to the community, preserving the housing assistance, and recently earning a HUD inspection score of 97A.  Prior to PCHA’s ownership the property received a failing score of 41C with numerous health and severe safety violations.  Renovations to the property are approximately 90% complete.

Lakeside Terrace Apartments, located at 4200 62^nd Avenue N. in Pinellas Park is a public housing community of 110 apartment homes.  Built in 1973, the community is very well maintained and is indistinguishable from non-assisted affordable housing.  Lakeside Terrace won the BAAA’s Affordable Community of the Year in the under 150 units category.

East Lake Club Apartments, located at 150 E. Lake Club Drive in Oldsmar, is a beautiful market rate affordable property boasting 240 apartment homes.  The community provides workforce housing with units designed for comfort in a setting of natural beauty and serene lake
views.  East Lake Club Apartments won the 2013 Conventional Community of the Year in the 151-200 unit category.

For more information about these and other PCHA residential communities, please visit PCHA’s website at www.pinellashousing.com and www.eastlakeclub.com.