Tampa General Hospital and USF Health workers have a new housing option on the way: a 170-apartment community in Brandon with on-site childcare and a free shuttle to their Tampa workplaces.
Leaders broke ground November 9 on The Linden at 9804 Delaney Creek Boulevard. The apartments are intended for eligible employees, with an opening expected in late summer 2028, according to Tampa General’s announcement. This is a construction milestone, not an announcement that apartments are available now.
Who the apartments are for
The project targets TGH and USF Health employees earning between 80% and 120% of area median income. WUSF’s November 10 reporting puts that range at $64,250 to $96,360 for a single person in Hillsborough County under 2026 guidelines. Those are current reference figures, not a guarantee of the income limits that will apply when the development opens.
WUSF reported that estimated rents were not provided. That is an important missing piece for workers comparing this future option with an existing lease: the announcement establishes the target income group, but does not establish what an individual apartment will cost.
Housing, childcare and the commute
Plans include one-, two- and three-bedroom homes and an O2B Kids childcare center.
The free shuttle is planned to connect residents with TGH’s main Davis Islands campus and the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine downtown. The Brandon site is about a mile from TGH’s Brandon Emergency Center. For employees, that makes transportation and childcare part of the housing proposal rather than separate questions left entirely to residents.
The Michaels Organization and Urban Practice are developing the community on TGH-owned land. TGH identifies $12.5 million in state support and $2 million from Hillsborough County over four years.
One project, a larger housing problem
WUSF reports that the development used Florida’s Live Local Act to streamline approval. Hospital officials also told the station that TGH is pursuing discounted rentals at existing properties: 170 new apartments cannot meet the housing needs of a workforce numbering about 15,000 statewide.
For now, the practical questions to watch are construction progress, rent levels and the eventual application process. Workers should not treat the 2028 target as a confirmed move-in date or assume that meeting today’s income range reserves an apartment.
Follow our Tampa Bay coverage for more local development news.
Image credit: DanTD / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. February 11, 2016 file photo of TGH from Bayshore Boulevard, not the Brandon apartment site. Resized.
