Housing Costs Push a Florida Hospital to Build Apartments for Its Workers

Tampa General Hospital is building apartments for its own workforce as housing costs make it harder for employees to find a place to live within reach of their jobs.

Hospital and local government leaders broke ground Nov. 9 on The Linden, a 170-apartment development in Brandon for eligible Tampa General and USF Health employees. The Michaels Organization is developing the community on hospital-owned land.

“We saw the rising cost of housing as a challenge for our team members,” Tampa General president and CEO John Couris said.

Eligibility will extend to employees earning between 80% and 120% of the area median income. For a single person in Hillsborough County, that is roughly $64,250 to $96,360 a year, WUSF reported.

The amount those workers would pay remains an open question. Estimated rents were not provided to WUSF. Income eligibility identifies who can apply, but it does not tell prospective tenants whether an apartment will fit their monthly budget.

Plans include one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, a 5,000-square-foot childcare center operated by O2B Kids and a free shuttle to Tampa General’s Davis Islands campus and the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine downtown.

Florida contributed $12.5 million toward construction, while Hillsborough County committed $2 million over four years. The hospital expects the community to open in late summer 2028.

Couris described housing as part of the hospital’s effort to recruit and retain employees. Tampa General has about 15,000 workers statewide, and its workforce chief, Qualenta Kivett, told WUSF the system is also seeking employee discounts at existing rental properties.

For now, the 170 apartments represent one part of that effort. Workers considering the development still need a number that the groundbreaking did not supply: the rent.