U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (right), Danielle Thomas, senior vice president of the St. Petersburg Housing Authority, and several stakeholders celebrated the organization receiving a Community Project Funding grant for the Ed White Hospital’s transformation at a ceremony on Friday.
U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor has secured $3.15 million in much-needed funding to help ensure St. Petersburg seniors – particularly vulnerable to soaring housing costs – have a unique place to call home.
The federal funding will support the St. Petersburg Housing Authority’s (SPHA) transformation of the former Ed White Hospital into an affordable senior housing complex. Once completed, the six-story, 121,000-square-foot building will feature 71 apartments for seniors earning up to 80% of the area median income (AMI).
SPHA will move its administrative headquarters to the centrally located facility, which will also house an Evara Health clinic. Castor, speaking at a check presentation ceremony on Friday, said federal funding uncertainty delayed the long-awaited, $43.8 million redevelopment.
In October 2022, the city dedicated $8.94 million in Penny for Pinellas and American Rescue Plan Act funding to the project. Officials rescinded the allocation in June 2024 due to concerns about delays.
The city reallocated the money in June 2025 once SPHA restarted construction. However, a funding gap still jeopardized the project.
Castor’s award, part of the federal Community Project Funding program, will allow SPHA to bring the hospital’s transformation to fruition. She said Friday that St. Petersburg “has done more with federal dollars to provide housing that is affordable and attainable for our neighbors than just about any city in the country.”
“I believe in keeping these projects on track and not letting them get bogged down,” Castor told Power Broker Magazine. “There is an overwhelming need in this community to have more affordable places, especially for seniors.”
A rendering of the redeveloped campus. Image: Wannemacher Jensen Architects.
In 2025, Congress significantly reduced or eliminated many Community Project Funding requests amid efforts to reduce federal spending. Castor, who represents a wide swath of Tampa and St. Petersburg, secured $17.32 million this year for 13 projects throughout the region. SPHA received the largest award.
Castor said affordable housing for seniors is “pretty fundamental to their ability to survive.” She also noted that the federal funding “would have been spent out in the world anyway,” and the Community Project program enables congress members to support local priorities.
Ed White Hospital is adjacent to Booker Creek Park. Residents will have views of the lake and access to a walking trail, basketball courts, and pickleball courts. SPHA will convert a first-floor lobby into a dining room with a catering kitchen.
The reimagined complex will also feature a community room, computer lab, and fitness center. However, its most vital amenity is on-site clinician services, including preventative care and chronic disease management, that make it easier for seniors to access care.
Elodie Dorso (left), CEO of Evara Health, and Danielle Thomas, senior vice president of the St. Petersburg Housing Authority.
Elodie Dorso, CEO of Evara Health, said affordable housing is “also a health issue.” She credited SPHA for partnering with the organization, and said their vision is “turning policy into progress.”
The facility could “be the difference between managing a chronic condition and ending up in the emergency room,” Dorso said of its future residents. “When housing is unstable, their health suffers.”
“This moment is really about more than a check presentation,” Dorso said. “It really represents a shared belief that when we invest in people, especially our seniors, we’re strengthening our community.”
Danielle Thomas, senior vice president of SPHA, thanked the myriad stakeholders who have supported the ambitious project. She said the agency’s new 18,000-square-foot headquarters would “better serve the families that rely on us every day.”
The campus will feature 60 one-bedroom, four two-bedroom, and seven studio apartments for seniors aged 62 and older. SPHA expects construction to conclude in the spring of 2027.
Additional funding sources include SPHA’s mortgage, Federal Home Loans through the Bank of Pittsburgh and Bank of New York, and the Pinellas Community Foundation.
The former Ed White Hospital opened at 2323 9th Ave. N. in 1976. Its namesake became the first American spacewalker in 1965 and subsequently piloted the first Apollo mission.
Edward Higgins White II died in January 1967 when Apollo I caught fire during pre-launch testing. His daughter, Bonnie White Baer, said he would “be so happy and proud” that the reimagined facility will continue honoring his name at a groundbreaking ceremony in August 2024.
The 162-bed hospital closed in 2014 due to declining admissions and revenue. Rodents and adventure-seeking teenagers were the only visitors for nearly a decade.
The St. Petersburg Housing Authority’s award was the largest among 13 projects throughout Tampa Bay.
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