Council work session reviews amendment to sale of 1454 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Ave for 24 townhomes

City staff presented a proposed Fifth Amendment to the contract for sale of city-owned property at 1454 South Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, a planned affordable-housing development to be carried out by Habitat for Humanity Pinellas County and Clearwater Neighborhood Housing Services.

Dylan Mayhew, the city’s housing manager, said the project (awarded through RFP 432) calls for 24 townhomes: half restricted to 80% of area median income and half restricted to 120% AMI. He told council the amendment responds to a procedural conflict in the existing contract that required developers to obtain all building permits prior to closing even though the city's development code prevents final issuance of the last 50% of permits until final plat recording and site/infrastructure work is complete. The amendment removes the permit contingency, extends the closing date to June 30, 2026, extends the project completion date to Dec. 31, 2028, and permits assignment of the contract to a developer single-asset LLC while adding default language allowing the city to revert ownership if timelines are not met.

Mayhew said Pinellas County has indicated its funding has been approved and staff’s recommendation is to approve the Fifth Amendment; the remaining step noted by staff is the developer obtaining project financing, which the developer has said it expects to secure under the revised timeline.

Next steps: Staff recommended council approve the Fifth Amendment and proceed to finalize closing preparations consistent with the extended timeline.