ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — We're getting closer to the City of St. Petersburg choosing which developer will build a new home for the Tampa Bay Rays.

A few of the ideas on the table include things like income-restricted units, low and moderate-income housing rentals and money for rental assistance and home ownership programs in the neighborhood.

This affects residents like William Kilgore. 

"I'm a courier, bike courier. I deliver food and that type of thing," he said.

Every now and then, Kilgore's route takes him near Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays and formerly the site of the Historic Gas Plant District.

"They tore it down with promise that there would be jobs and opportunities created by the Trop, which never happened," Kilgore.

That was 40 years ago. 

Now the site is at the center of another redevelopment project. Four companies have submitted proposals that include affordable and workforce housing. 

As an organizer for the St. Petersburg Tenants Union, Kilgore is calling for more public rather than subsidized or privately owned housing.

"We need publicly owned housing, and we need it to be subsidized for the most poor because that is where the most need is," he said.

Four of the plans submitted for the Tropicana Field site include thousands of units of residential housing.

Each developer proposes that a portion of that housing will be dedicated to people who qualify for affordable and workforce housing.

That is anywhere from about 23 percent to more than 50 percent, depending on the company and the plan.

However, Kilgore still questions whether that will be enough to fill the need.

"I'm just a working person, working these underpaid jobs unfortunately," Kilgore said, adding that he's not alone. 

With workforce housing rates in Pinellas County at around 80 percent to 120 percent Area Median Income or AMI, Kilgore’s concerned that these proposed homes won't be attainable.

"Eighty percent of the Area Median Income is $66,000 a year, so to translate that if you make less than $66,000 a year you are not going to qualify for most of this housing," he said.

"Most black residents are not going to qualify for workforce housing. Most low paid workers of any race, it doesn't matter, are not going to qualify for workforce housing," he said.

According to Rent.com, the average rent for apartments in Saint Petersburg is between $1,577 and $2,414.

"I know people who have moved out of this city," he said. "I know people who live in their cars. They're not doing anything wrong. They're working essential jobs and they can't make enough money to live."

Kilgore says the roots of this neighborhood run deep.

"It's important to me because this was a working class neighborhood and working people have to fight for each other," he said.

He believes this is an opportunity to provide more housing for more people in an area where prior development displaced hundreds.

Residents are encouraged to give their input on the project.  Comments are being accepted in person and online until Jan. 23.