Balancing act: How can high-dollar condos and affordable housing co-exist?

As the number of luxury apartment towers continue to sprout like weeds in downtown St. Petersburg, a growing chorus of local residents see themselves being priced out of the neighborhood.

A small but especially vocal group made its presence known in late October during a ceremonial groundbreaking for 400 Central — what’s said to be the largest luxury tower being built on Florida's Gulf Coast. As politicians, city officials and members of the city’s real estate and business community gathered to hear speeches in the shadows of construction cranes dotting the skyline, some protesters shouted them down, accusing leaders of running them out of town.

While it’s unlikely any minds were changed by the protest, it was a good example of how some residents are feeling as the number of high-priced condo projects continue to be built in downtown St. Pete and housing prices go up.