Downtown St. Pete could see over 500 units in two new towers
By Breanne Williams
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Jan 4, 2024

St. Petersburg officials have given preliminary approval to two residential towers that will bring more than 500 units to the urban core.

St. Petersburg City Council, meeting as the Community Redevelopment Agency, unanimously supported two projects Thursday that will feature residential units, commercial space and parking garages. Councilmembers Gina Driscoll, Richie Floyd and Copley Gerdes were absent.

Both projects also need approval from the city’s Development Review Committee.

The first tower at 332, 340 and 344 Fourth St. S. will be 25 stories and will have 152 units. Valor Capital is the developer of the $55 million project. It will be built on a roughly half-acre parcel near the Innovation District.

The tower will also have 4,893 square feet of commercial space and a 130-space parking garage. Currently, there are three buildings on the site, including two apartment buildings and a condominium building. Valor Capital intends to demolish the existing buildings for the tower.

According to city documents, the development will operate as a hybrid between a residential condominium and a hotel. The hybrid model will offer flexibility for owners to “offer their units for short-term rental” or reside there permanently. There will be staff onsite 24-7. Owners can choose to opt in or out of the rental program.

The tower will be on the northern side of the property, leaving a “large uncovered open space” along Fourth Avenue South. The 25th floor will have a sky bar amenity area. The units will be a mix of studios to three-bedroom floor plans.

Valor Capital is proposing to contribute $550,000 to the Housing and Capital Improvement Trust Fund for workforce housing.

The second tower, Collective Central, aims to “provide pedestrian-level activation” while respecting the existing neighborhood. Don Mastry, a partner with Trenam Law, represents the development team and said the project will act as a connection between Central Avenue and the Historic Gas Plant District, where the city is in negotiations with Hines and the Tampa Bay Rays to redevelop the 86-acre property.

The project is being developed by Pernicious, LLC, which is linked to PTM Partners.

“This is being developed by the same people that developed the west half [of the site] with the Moxy Hotel that’s about to open and so forth,” Mastry said. “So, it’s going to end up with a cohesive, unified master plan for the whole block, which is presently fragmented, underutilized and not in good shape.”

Mastry said the project has the “total support” of the Edge District Business Association, which he said is particularly looking forward to the parking element of the development. The development team plans to build more parking than required by code, and the surplus will be made available for public use, which will address a large need in the Edge district.

This proposal will “unify the development of the 1100 block” by retaining the hotel and three buildings with office and commercial spaces and demolishing two buildings. The developer will then build one 20-story tower on the lot.

It’s estimated the project will cost $98.5 million.