St. Petersburg gives the green light to more than 400 new apartment units
By Breanne Williams
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Jul 17, 2023

Two multifamily projects in St. Petersburg are moving forward and are set to bring 424 new units to the city.

On July 12 members of the Development Review Commission gave support to both the projects. The decision comes as Tampa Bay’s multifamily market has rapidly plateaued.

Tampa-based Ally Capital Group plans to build a 28-story tower at the site of the Exchange Hotel in downtown St. Petersburg.

The $120 million project is located at 234 Third Ave. N, will bring 327 apartments, a 325-space parking garage, 325 bicycle spaces and 7,890 square feet of ground-floor commercial space to the site. The garage will be wrapped with residential units facing Third Avenue.

Plans show the units will feature a range of studios to three-bedroom floor plans. The apartment tower will sit on top of a seven-story base. The development team also includes Behar and Peteranecz Architecture.

The developer will demolish the Exchange Hotel to make way for the tower.

After an extensive public hearing, the DRC determined that since the existing hotel was not a historic structure, it could be demolished and redeveloped. The hotel was “potentially eligible” for historic preservation, but no applications were ever filed to go through the process.

Ally Capital will provide $1.2 million to the city’s Housing Capital Improvements Projects trust fund following the DRC’s approval to give the apartments a floor area ratio bonus.

8-story building at 1663 First Ave S.

A $25 million apartment building with small, furnished units received approval from the DRC for St. Petersburg’s Grand Central district.

Christopher Bicho of Landings Real Estate Group and Craig Bazarsky of BendinRoad Development LLC will be building 97 units in an eight-story building at 1663 First Ave. S in St. Pete. The duo is building a similar project with 104 units in Tampa at 701 E. Whiting St.

The building will not have any parking for vehicles but will have more than 100 bike storage spaces. Amenities will include a fitness center, coworking space, pool, lobby and an Amazon package area.

There are also three outdoor common areas for tenants on site, including a 1,000-square-foot ground-floor outdoor space, a fifth-floor rooftop pool in a 2,000-square-foot outdoor space and a separate 500-square-foot outdoor space overlooking Tropicana Field.

The smaller footprint of the units — ranging from 358 square feet to 680 square feet — means renters can have luxury living at a more affordable rate than comparable units, according to the developers. Pricing will more than likely start at $2,200 a month.