Mixed-use development inches closer to reality on 39 acres near Gandy Boulevard
By Breanne Williams
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Dec 3, 2021

A 39-acre mixed-use development near Gandy Boulevard in St. Petersburg is moving forward after the Community Planning and Preservation Commission approved amendments to a development agreement in the area.

The CPPC unanimously approved some alterations to a development agreement for the property — which is south of Gandy Boulevard and east of Snug Harbor Road — that was reached in 2009. The new plan made the following changes:

8,000 square feet of restaurant space, down from 21,000 square feet

37,800-square-foot public marina with 200 dry slips and 45 wet slips instead of 72,000 square feet of retail space

Removed a stipulation that 256 of a planned 376 residential units had to be single-family homes or townhouses

Miami-based Key International is the applicant for the project and the owners/developers are Gandy Harbor I LLC, Gandy Harbor II LLC and Gandy Harbor III LLC.

The original development agreement was set to expire in April 2029. If all of the modifications are approved by St. Pete City Council, the new agreement will expire in 2036. Council will consider the amendments on Dec. 2 and Dec. 9.

A requirement was also included to ensure the project is mixed-use. It says the restaurant will need to be finished at the same time or prior to the first multifamily building.

The modifications also eliminated a requirement for the developers to build a connection with Friendship Trail, based on a transportation analysis.

The other requirements remain: building a Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority bus stop pad and shelter, creating a public kayak/canoe launch and public waterfront boardwalk.

Elise Batsel of Stearns Weaver Miller Weissler, who represents the development team, said that the owners were “seriously considering” including workforce housing in the final plans of the project.

The property by the Gandy Bridge had once been considered as a possible new stadium site for the Tampa Bay Rays.