U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor presented a $3.15 million federal funding check to the St. Petersburg Housing Authority (SPHA) to help finance the redevelopment of the former Edward White Hospital into a new affordable housing and community services campus.
The redevelopment project centers on renovating the former 121,000-square-foot hospital to house 71 affordable apartments for households earning at or below 80% of the area median income. Plans for the campus also include relocating SPHA’s central administrative offices to the site and establishing a health clinic operated by Evara Health — which plans to provide preventative care, chronic disease management, same-day visits and geriatric services through a team-based care model.
The housing component of the project will be known as the Gemini Senior Living Community at the Edward White Campus, providing a mix of units including 60 one-bedroom apartments, seven studios and four two-bedroom units. The building’s ground floor will also include roughly 17,890 square feet of space for SPHA’s administrative offices, community amenities such as a dining hall, a community room, a computer lab and a fitness center for residents.
Architectural design for the redevelopment was completed by Wannemacher Jensen Architects, while LEMA Construction, Inc. is serving as the project’s general contractor. Project planners say the redevelopment will “bring the vibrancy of downtown St. Pete to this historic building.” Exterior improvements will include new windows, doors, paint and landscaping, while interior renovations will bring the building into compliance with current ADA accessibility standards.
The building’s name will continue honoring astronaut Edward H. White II, the former namesake of the hospital. White, who flew on the Gemini 4 mission in 1965, became the first American astronaut to perform a spacewalk when he floated free outside the spacecraft, tethered to it, for approximately 23 minutes. He later died in the Apollo 1 spacecraft fire in 1967 at the age of 36. SPHA received permission from the astronaut’s family to continue honoring his legacy with the new campus name.
The SPHA offers a variety of programs and services that provide affordable rental housing to low-income families, seniors, veterans, and the disabled in the greater St. Petersburg region. Construction on the Edward White Campus is currently underway, with the project expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2027.
