SPHA Central Office Moving to Baker Building

ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – In October, the St. Petersburg Housing Authority’s (SPHA) central office is moving to the Baker building in the Baypoint Commerce Center, located at 888 Executive Center Drive West, Suite 100, in St. Petersburg. The office will open to the public at 8:00 a.m. on Monday, October 11, 2010.

SPHA’s central office, which includes the Housing Choice Voucher/Section 8 department and housing authority administration, will be closed from Wednesday, October 6, through Friday, October 8, as staff completes their relocation.

Since August 2009, SPHA’s staff has operated from the first floor of the Rogall building in downtown St. Petersburg. The sale of the Graham and Rogall buildings is scheduled to close in early November. SPHA staff is relocating to temporary, leased office space in the Baker building, while a permanent office facility is being constructed in the nearby Gateway Business Park.

SPHA’s Chief Executive Officer Darrell Irions said, “The housing authority continues to work towards deconcentrating areas of poverty per U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requirements and expanding the availability of affordable housing in SPHA’s jurisdiction, which includes the city of St. Petersburg and a 10-mile radius outside of the city. The strategy of moving our headquarters presents an opportunity for families living in areas of concentrated poverty to get comfortable exploring business and housing options in other parts of the city.”

The construction of SPHA’s permanent central office facility will be publicly bid, and housing authority management hopes that it will be built by fall 2011. None of the proceeds from the sale of the Graham and Rogall buildings will be spent on the central office.

SPHA’s main mailing address is P.O. Box 12849, St. Petersburg, FL 33733. The housing authority’s main phone number is 727-323-3171, and the fax number is 727-328-6699.

About St. Petersburg Housing Authority (SPHA):

The St. Petersburg Housing Authority (SPHA) is a public body corporate that has a 70+ year history of developing and administering affordable housing programs within its jurisdictional area, which includes the city of St. Petersburg and a 10-mile radius outside of the city. Consistently scored as a “High Performer” on U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) assessments, SPHA provides housing assistance to more than 3,400 families.  The housing authority has received national awards and recognition for its innovative programs, including the Economies of Scale program, the Jordan Park HOPE VI redevelopment program, the Section 3 program and the Fraud Recovery program. More information about the authority’s programs and services can be found at www.stpeteha.org.