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Developer flipping a vacant Clearwater property into a $70M luxury residential project

Veronica Brezina

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An exterior view of Marina Bay 880, developed by Andrus Development Group on the intracoastal waterway in Clearwater.

Developer Brian Andrus’ vision of transforming a piece of underutilized land in Clearwater into a residential property that takes full advantage of the waterfront is becoming a reality. 

His project, dubbed the Marina Bay 880, is a 380,000-square-foot condominium development on a five-acre lot at 880 N. Osceola Ave. The project, which broke ground in October 2019, includes two eight-story buildings with a total of 87 condominiums with floor-to-ceiling windows that boasts views of the bay. 

“In 2018, I started talking with the property owner at that time he couldn’t do what he wanted to do, which was build a high and dry boat storage yard. The neighborhood didn’t want that,” Andrus said. “This site is gorgeous and is one of very few that are right on the water with a buildable marina.” 

Residents are going to start moving in by the end of this month. The units are above a shared 80,000-square foot parking garage that has electric car charging stations. Another eight townhomes, which are all sold, are wrapped around an adjacent marina. 

The units, which range from 1,815 to 3,809 square feet, are priced from the mid-$750,000s to over $1.9 million. Several dozen units are currently available. 

Each residence has 173 to 989 square feet of outside space and views of the water. 

One of the most significant aspects of the project is the full-blown amenities. 

“This isn’t like any other project I’ve worked on. We went all out for this. The idea was to create a community living environment where people can work out, stay healthy and spend time with family,” Andrus told the St. Pete Catalyst as he was walking throughout the building checking off his punch-list. 

A significant amenity is the 69 adjacent boat slips, 47 of them with lifts, at the neighboring marina. The complex also has access to an adjacent, private peninsula. On the property, there’s an Olympic-sized lap pool, a dry sauna and a steam room, a fitness center with advanced-technology gym equipment, an outdoor fire table with seating and a putting and chipping green. 

Instead of having a ground floor dedicated to retail and commercial uses such as office spaces or a coffee shop, the ground floor will be used for the amenities. 

“Across the street from the property is a school that has been purchased by the City of Clearwater,” Andrus said. “The city gave it a historical designation, and that means it’s going to be offered to developers.” 

He explained that concepts have been tossed around such as turning the school property into a food hall, like Armature Works in Tampa, or a space with meeting rooms and retail uses similar to the Oxford Exchange in South Tampa. 

“I remember looking at this site and thinking about all the potential. I feel like this [Marina Bay 880] is one more project that’s going to allow Clearwater to catch up with the other surrounding areas like Tampa and St. Pete,” he said. 

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5 Comments

5 Comments

  1. Avatar

    Donna

    August 15, 2021at1:31 pm

    So, right now because of the Scientologists you can’t buy property in Clearwater, Clearwater can’t do anything that costs any money, because they don’t get taxes on any of the properties, so what’s wrong with some high cost high tax income? I can see this is only doing good for the community of Clearwater and Clearwater Beach.

  2. Avatar

    Clayton Mc Bride

    August 13, 2021at9:45 am

    Great innovating Brian ,(let’s see, whercan you fit a 9 hole par 3 golf course?)

  3. Avatar

    Nikki

    August 11, 2021at9:09 am

    Absolutely gorgous!

  4. Avatar

    Terry Jones

    August 11, 2021at3:08 am

    Great. More unaffordable housing for out of towners, great profit for the developer and his cronies and damage to the environment. Make CLearwater unaffordable for the lower 99 percent!

  5. Avatar

    Emprezz Queen

    August 10, 2021at5:38 pm

    Gorgeous beautiful 🥰 I’m originally from Clearwater FL 🌴⛱️🌴🏖️🌄🌴 I absolutely love it. I been visiting that area over 46 years***

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