With Graham-Rogall project, Phil Farley does what Darrell Irons could not

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Why couldn’t the St. Petersburg Housing Authority, under the reign of Darrell Irons, utilize the Graham-Rogall complex for affordable housing?   Instead, Irons swayed his board to sell the Graham Rogall to developer Phil Farley, who turned around and did what Irons could not: offer affordable housing (although Farley’s efforts primarily target USF students).

Now I hear Irons wants to take the cool six million housing authority banked on the sale and build an office complex he insists is a bigger need than affordable housing.

Here’s a better idea St. Pete, have the St. Petersburg Housing Authority move their headquarters into the Manhattan Casino on 22nd St. South or any of the countless unoccupied buildings dotting the cityscape.  There’s a building that tax dollars paid for which has been sitting maintained and vacant for years.  That would be a win for the city and allow the housing authority to put housing money into, you know, affordable housing. What a novel idea!

Peter Schorsch is the President of Extensive Enterprises and is the publisher of some of Florida’s most influential new media websites, including SaintPetersBlog.com, FloridaPolitics.com, ContextFlorida.com, and Sunburn, the morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics. SaintPetersBlog has for three years running been ranked by the Washington Post as the best state-based blog in Florida. In addition to his publishing efforts, Peter is a political consultant to several of the state’s largest governmental affairs and public relations firms. Peter lives in St. Petersburg with his wife, Michelle, and their daughter, Ella.