Construction progresses for major hi-rises, apartments downtown

Cranes are hovering over new hi-rise apartment towers and mixed-use developments throughout downtown St. Petersburg in the diverse districts. 

Here’s a look at some of the projects coming out of the ground today (the majority of photos of the sites were taken this week): 

334 Residences 

334 is a 24-story residential tower with 220 upscale apartments under construction at 334 2nd Ave. S.

334 rises at 334 2nd Ave. S.

American Land Ventures is developing 334. The project was supposed to be built last year, but the timeline was delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

A different angle of the construction site. 

Miami-based Coastal Construction is the general contractor.

A rendering of 334 at 334 2nd Ave. S.

The project marks Coastal’s first project in St. Petersburg. Global design firm Stantec is handling architecture and engineering.

What distinguishes 334 from other apartment buildings is its appeal to baby boomers, the fastest-growing segment of the rental market, said Dave Fellows, vice president of construction at American Land Ventures.

“We’ve incorporated features to accommodate their lifestyle. There are luxurious amenities, wine coolers in the apartments, and the boomer units are larger,” Fellows previously said.

Completion of 334 is expected in late 2022.

Ascent

Greystar, a Charleston, South Carolina-based real estate company, is developing a mixed-use development called Ascent St. Petersburg at 225 1st Ave. N.

Greystar’s Ascent apartment tower will debut in 2023.

A site plan from 2019 unveiled that the 36-story building would have 172 hotel rooms, 354 apartment units and 6,600 square feet of commercial space.

It will include four levels of parking, a sixth-level dock with indoor and outdoor amenities including a fitness center and pool, and a roof deck and amenity space on top of the residential building, according to the site plan.

The building will open in 2023. 

There’s a long history of attempted development at the site. In 2004, the city issued a request for proposals for what was at the time city-owned property, seeking developers for both a corporate headquarters and a full-service hotel. The city chose Progress Energy, now Duke Energy, and Kessler Enterprises as joint developers. 

Duke now occupies a 16-story, 228,000-square-foot office building at 299 1st Ave. N. But Kessler, the previous developer that had planned the Kessler Grand Bohemian, no longer was associated with the project by the time Greystar submitted its plan. 

The Nolen 

The Nolen is a 23-story condo development planned for downtown St. Pete. 

Site of The Nolen.

The $50 million hi-rise development at 146 4th Ave. Northeast is near North Straub Park and The Vinoy Hotel. It will be on the same site where JMC Communities previously planned The Perry, a 12-story, 20-unit condominium. 

The tower will offer 31 units, a three-story parking structure, and 1,260 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Each residence is designed to be completely private and separate with no shared neighboring walls, according to a press release. 

A rendering of The Nolen. DDA Development.

The amenities include a fitness center, wellness room, a social room called “The Salon” with a large catering kitchen, and terrace with a heated pool and spa, an outdoor kitchen, fire tables and cabanas. 

Bowen Arnold and John Schilling at DDA Development are the developers. The project team also includes Backstreets Capital, Place Architecture and Kippen Communications, all based in St. Pete, as well as Smith & Associates Real Estate.

The development team recently released new renderings of the project. 

Orange Station at the Edge 

Orange Station at the Edge is a mixed-use, 16-story building that will be developed at the site of the old St. Petersburg Police headquarters. 

The latest rendering of Orange Station, which will now house office space and rise to 16 stories. Kippen Communications.

While ground has not been technically broken, demolition of the police station is scheduled for Monday. 

Edge Central Development Partners, a joint venture group involving St. Petersburg-based J Square, Tampa-based DDA Development, and others are behind the Orange Station at the Edge project.

The project entails creating five buildings that will include a total of 103 residential units, up to 106,000 square feet of office space, 21,400 square feet of commercial space and a 590-space parking garage for public and private use. 

The condos, called The Residences at Orange Station, will feature one, two and three-bedroom units. 

Original plans called for a freestanding Class A office building on the northeast pad; however, the pandemic has altered plans as many companies can’t predict the future of the workforce and office needs. 

The group said it was also a challenge to construct such a large building without first securing an anchor tenant. The group still can develop a future office building if desired. 

The initial plans for the residential units also shifted. The 56 planned units will now be 61 for-sale condos, and there will also be 42 workforce apartments.

The square footage for the condos ranges from 1,150 to 1,800 square feet.  

Groundbreaking for the new build is slated for June 2022. 

A sales office, led by Smith & Associates, is expected to open by the end of the year with contracts available in early 2022.

The Metro 

The Metro is a seven-story, 100-unit studio apartment building proposed for vacant land at 1st Avenue and 11th Street North.

The Metro apartment complex that’s being built on 1st Avenue North and 11th Street.

The project developer is DevMar Development, the same developer of  The Vantage Apartments in St. Petersburg and RainDance Apartments in Winter Haven. The developer is working with Tampa-based Kast Construction as the general contractor. 

Two months ago, the group closed on a $16.1 million construction loan for the site. 

Construction is expected to start next month. It is expected to be completed in late 2022 or early 2023. 

A rendering of The Metro. HSF.

The seven-story complex will have a modern design with the studio units offering open floor plans, granite and quartz countertops, 10-foot ceilings, floor-to-ceiling windows and large private balconies.

The complex will offer amenities such as an outdoor pool with cabanas, hammocks, grills, game area, dog park and indoor bike/scooter storage and repair shop.

There is a roughly 700-square-foot space for retail, which may be used for a small coffee shop. 

Saltaire 

Saltaire, a luxury 35-story condominium tower in downtown St. Petersburg, is underway at 333 1^st St. S. 

The 192-unit tower at 333 1^st St. S., is being developed by Kolter Urban, a division of The Kolter Group, the developer behind One St. Petersburg.

A rendering of Saltaire from the east view.

SB Architects of Miami designed the project and Kast Construction is building it, with completion expected in early 2023.

An image of the construction of Saltaire from March. GoogleMaps.

Red Apple Group’s 400 Central project

On Monday morning, New York billionaire John Catsimatidis Sr. of the Red Apple Group alongside his family and partners, celebrated the groundbreaking for the 46-story condo hi-rise. 

Rendering: 400 Central, from Red Apple Real Estate

The project dubbed The Residences at 400 Central, will have 301-unit luxury condominium units and office and retail space – it will be the largest condo on the west coast of Florida and the tallest structure in St. Pete. 

John Catsimatidis Sr., his family and others toss dirt on the site, marking the start of construction.

 The condominium homes will offer one-to-four-bedroom floorplans, as well as a selection of custom penthouse homes. Pre-construction pricing starts at $800,000 for the condo units. 

The condos are being designed by Miami-based architectural firm Arquitectonica.  

Catsimatidis previously told the Catalyst that he plans to live in a penthouse of the condo, as he is fully invested in continuing work in the community.

The project is expected to take three years to complete.

The sales gallery opened across the street from the site. 

Here’s a look at the latest renderings and models of units. 

Catsimatidis purchased the property, once the site of the Pheil Hotel and nicknamed the “cheese-grater” building, several years ago. It was demolished in 2016. 

More to come

A rendering of the Kolter Group’s new 41-story condo tower at 200 Central Ave. City of St. Pete documents/ SB Architects.

The projects listed here are only a handful of developments taking shape in St. Pete. There are many other projects in and outside of downtown in various stages such as the Amazon delivery facility under construction in Pinellas Park, multiple projects in the works for the evolving Skyway Marina District, and proposed developments including Kolter Group’s plan to build a 41-story condominium tower on a surface parking lot adjacent to the 200 Central office building.