Thrive
Coworking space coming to Warehouse Arts District
“We want it to be young, energetic, collaborative and entrepreneurial.”
An Urban Office coworking location is scheduled to open in the Warehouse Arts District by the end of the year.
Lapin Development acquired an approximately 24,000-square-foot building, at 2301 3rd Ave. S., Jan. 16. It will offer 100 private offices as well as a retail space.
President and CEO Alec Lapin, who also oversees the Urban Office concept for Houston-based developer Braun Enterprises, said that he has been interested in the Tampa Bay area for two years. The deal went under contract in November.
Braun has created more than 10 locations throughout Texas. This will be the first in Florida.
The St. Petersburg site is located in the SunRunner Target Employment Center Local Overlay. In 2024, the St. Petersburg City Council passed the zoning initiative to encourage mixed-use development in the district.
One of the target employment uses approved by the Council was “Office, Co-working,” Lapin explained. This means that the building, which is currently zoned as “Industrial Traditional,” can become a coworking space without a zoning variance or any new parking requirements.
The structure, which dates back to the 1960s, was previously owned by the Louise Graham Regeneration Center – an organization that supported developmentally disabled adults. State and federal regulations’ impact on funding led to its closure last year.
“We like the adaptive reuse element for a few reasons,” he said. “When you purchase raw land or tear a building down and start from scratch, it often takes at least twice as long. Additionally, we like to keep the unique elements of the building.”
The concept will also offer shared conference rooms, a podcast studio, kitchen, lounge areas, phone booths and an outdoor work space.
A conference room at the West Heights Urban Office in Houston. Developer Alec Lapin said that the St. Pete location will look similar.
Lapin hopes to attract small local businesses. Companies in industries such as law, real estate, insurance, marketing and construction have moved to Urban Office locations in the past.
“We want it to be young, energetic, collaborative and entrepreneurial,” he explained. “All of those adjectives are really what I think of when I think of St. Pete.”
Additionally, the building will have about 2,000 square feet of retail space in the southeast corner of the property. Lapin plans to lease it to a food and beverage concept. A tenant has not yet been selected.
Urban Office hosts monthly events for members, ranging from speaker presentations to potluck meals.
“What we are trying to do more of is put on events that are more catered to the specific industries that we find we have the most members of at each location,” he said. “The overall goal is to create networking – not forced but organic networking – by having all of these companies in close quarters.”
