Sur Club completes development amid evolving Skyway Marina District
By Breanne Williams
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Nov 12, 2021

Development on a large luxury residential community in St. Petersburg’s Skyway Marina District is officially complete.

Sur Club, a $65 million, 296-luxury residential apartment community, is located at 3301 32nd Ave. S on 4 acres in the Skyway Marina District. Totaling 484,855 square feet, the apartments aims to offer resort-style living.

Tampa-based Phillips Development & Realty LLC and Birmingham-based Capstone Building Corp. were the developers and contractors behind the project. Donald Phillips, managing director of Phillips Development & Realty, said the company had been eying the district for several years and knew it was only a matter of time before St. Pete’s rapid development spread to the Skyway area.

“We have to find ways to be competitive and one of the ways we have always done that is to choose where we see the market is going to be in a few years versus where it is now,” Phillips said.

Other developments like Marina Beach, Marina Walk, The Addison Skyway Marina and The Manhattan have slowly been bringing a new wave of residents and culture to the area making the Skyway Marina District one of the most closely watched development areas in the city.

Phillips and his team saw other projects going up in the district but the area still felt risky on paper.

"We could see the fundamentals were there," Phillips said. "It’s like looking at the hole in a donut, we weren’t looking for what was there, but what was missing."

Sur Club partially opened earlier this year, but completion on the entire community just completed. Phillips said a large number of out-of-state residents have relocated to the property.

Skyway Marina District is more affordable than downtown St. Pete while still close to the beach, the interstate and the ferry.

The Sur Club is 70% leased, Phillips said. At least 30 units a month are being leased on average. Rents are an average of $300 to $400 a month cheaper than most downtown apartments, Phillips said.

Residents have a five-story parking garage, two resort-style pools and poolside cabanas, outdoor kitchens, a resident lounge and coffee bar, a large bark park, pickleball courts, cornhole, fitness center and outdoor entertaining areas.

The developer plans to bring a mini-mart to the property and is in discussions with restaurants that will be developed in a similar style on outparcels on the property. Once completed, a delivery process will be established so residents can have the food delivered directly to them.

Phillips said the impact of the pandemic on the residential community has permanently changed the interests of residents. Because people are spending more time at home and in many cases are working from home, developers invested in stronger technology at Sur Club, increased the size of the dog park and expanded the workout facility. The units are tech-savvy. A one-time code can be shared with a dog walker or cleaner.

“Urban environments are very nice and there’s a lot to offer there, it’s kind of like where all the bright lights shine, but there’s a lot of people that don’t mind living in the limelight, they just don’t want to live in the spotlight,” Phillips said. "Sometimes you just want some peace and quiet. It’s just nice to go somewhere where you can go and relax.”