Feds okay sale of Graham-Rogall buildings

ST. PETERSBURG-- The federal Housing and Urban Development has approved the controversial sale of the city's largest public housing complex to a condominium developer.

HUD granted a special exemption to the St. Petersburg Housing Authority that would allow the Graham-Rogall complex, located near Tropicana Field, to be redeveloped into condos. The ruling comes despite a 1994 agreement that the Rogall apartments must remain affordable rental housing until 2017.

That's good news for condo developer KEGB, which said it would not buy the complex if it could not redevelop the property sooner.

The Rogall and Graham Park properties, which share a hallway, are being sold because the Housing Authority says they are obsolete and financially unsustainable. Repairing the complex would cost more than $22-million.

The Housing Authority began moving residents out last year. About 95 of the Graham building's 336 units are occupied. All of the 150 units in Rogall are full.

All Graham-Rogall residents will be relocated at no cost to them, the Housing Authority says.

KEGB has said it could not make a profit running Graham-Rogall as apartments even if given the property for free.

The housing authority will meet Thursday to discuss how to move forward with the sale.

-- Cristina Silva, Times Staff Writer