Mixed-use St. Pete development launches office leasing
By Breanne Williams
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: May 2, 2024

PTM Partners and Fort Lauderdale-based DoveHill Capital Management have launched marketing efforts for the office space in the Edge Collective within St. Petersburg’s Edge district.

The developers have hired Keller Williams St. Pete to lease 16,000 square feet of office space on the second and third floors of 1246 Central Ave. Spaces range from 1,800-square-foot suites to a full floor, which is 8,000 square feet.

Nick Pantuliano, chief development officer and chief operations officer for PTM, told the Tampa Bay Business Journal that the developers aren’t seeking any particular type of tenant; their goal is “to find someone that will match the character of St. Petersburg.”

“It could be a coworking space or maybe a company that’s coming out of cowork and looking to take that next step,” Pantuliano said. “The 1246 building was an old furniture building and before that had warehouse uses. We decided to build an exterior structure so you can basically step into your own space from an outside corridor. It has that smaller intimate feel, but with the modern office space amenities businesses are looking for.”

If one tenant were to lease both floors, Pantuliano said they could easily transition the exterior corridor into a balcony for employees.

Shari Neissani, vice president of development for PTM Partners, said in a release that downtown St. Pete’s population has increased by approximately 11% in the past five years. Meanwhile, office vacancy has remained at less than 6%, which she said is “well outperforming the rest of the country.”

“With that comes an inherent need for Class A office space, especially during a time when the desire for high-caliber office space is top of mind, which is precisely what we are offering within a prime mixed-use community at the Edge Collective,” Neissani said in a release.

The office space was designed by Storyn Studio for Architecture. Tenants will also have access to a 7,000-square-foot communal garden on the ground floor of the building.

The Edge Collective is a 500,000-square-foot mixed-use development currently under construction in the Edge district. The project included a 163-key Moxy by Marriot Hotel, which will open in June, and the redeveloped 1246 Central Ave. building directly adjacent to the hotel. The 1246 Central Ave. building was entirely renovated to include improved infrastructure, more windows and “optimized space across all three levels.”

The upper levels will have new equipment and infrastructure, and the building will have options for additional exterior signage.

“There is certainly a flight to quality in Class A office space happening across the state of Florida right now, but the Tampa Bay area, and St. Pete in particular, are seeing a major influx because they offer companies and their people a great quality of life, as well as dynamic commercial districts,” Jake Wurzak, CEO of DoveHill Capital Management, said in a release.

In April, PTM announced a Turkish restaurant with locations throughout Central Florida had leased a 5,000-square-foot space at 1246 Central Ave. Bosphorous Turkish Cuisine will have an outdoor dining garden between its building and the Moxy by Marriott hotel.

The Edge Collective will also feature 350 multifamily rentals, 45,000 square feet of commercial and retail space and 360 parking spaces.

Wurzak said the Edge Collective offers a “unique mix of everything,” which makes it a desirable location for employees. It is also one block away from the proposed Historic Gas Plant District redevelopment project from the Tampa Bay Rays and Hines. The project will include nearly 8 million square feet of mixed-use development and a new ballpark for the Rays.

In the Edge district, the only other office space coming online in the near future is The Central, previously named Orange Station, aka the former police headquarters a block away from the Edge Collective. The project broke ground in February and, when complete, will feature 125,000 square feet of new office space.

Pantuliano said 1246 Central Ave. has a “different character and a different scale” and is a space that “lends itself quite well” to someone wanting to make inroads in St. Pete and establish themselves as part of the community within the Edge district.