Developer exits Corey Landing partnership

South Florida-based Ram Realty Advisors is no longer working with a landowner to transform a vacant waterfront St. Pete Beach property into a $100 million, mixed-use luxury development. 

The site of the planned Corey Landing project, located where the former Leverock’s restaurant and Bay Winds motel operated, was expected to be redeveloped into a seven-story, 243-unit apartment building with 2,000 square feet of retail, office and commercial shops, along with a 5,000-square-foot restaurant at the east end of Corey Avenue. 

“We were notified of their decision [to exit], but the reason has not been officially stated,” City Manager Alex Rey said in an emailed statement. “The application is under the property owner’s name, and they are looking for a new developer to replace Ram Realty.” 

Ram Realty’s office declined to comment about exiting the partnership. 

However, several months ago, readers reached out to the St. Pete Catalyst asking for an update on the project due to the lack of activity at the four-acre site. Ram Realty Vice President of Development Travis Williams responded to the Catalyst in April via LinkedIn, stating, “We are still working through some final permitting issues at the moment as well as finalizing our construction costs.” 

A rendering of the residential units and retail for Corey Landing.

The site is currently zoned TC-2, which permits residential and commercial uses. Commissioners and residents expressed concerns relating to the density, the number of units and scale of the project, and the vehicular traffic it may bring when the project plans were presented in 2021. 

The Corey Landing project was estimated to cost $90 million, but those costs escalated to top $100 million as a result of inflation in material costs. 

A site plan of Corey Landing.

Ram Realty intended to use capital from a discretionary closed-end fund for the Corey Landing project. Therefore, Ram would have funded all equity required for the project from the fund and would not require any outside capital partners, according to city documents.  

The project also included the construction of commercial docks and a waterfront, a dock-up restaurant and a 0.7-acre linear public park. 

The city would retain the entitlements to the park while the developer would be responsible for redeveloping it. The park would feature bike racks and a waterfront overlook. 

The Ram Realty team previously noted how the development would generate $1.3 million of annual revenue for the city.