Place
Developer unveils proposed tower near USF St. Pete
A local development firm has submitted plans for a 21-story, 213-unit apartment tower in St. Petersburg’s Innovation District.
The .69-acre property at 446 4th St. S. sits directly across from the University of South Florida St. Petersburg’s recreation fields. The campus is roughly a quarter of a mile southwest of the site.
St. Petersburg-based Stadler Development is behind the $67 million project, which requires city approval. Managing partner John Stadler who oversees the firm with his son, Chris, believes the high-rise will provide much-needed housing options away from the downtown core.
“What we love about this site is that it will well-serve the hospitals, the University of South Florida, the Ark Innovation Center and all the maritime startups throughout the Innovation District,” Chris Stadler told the Catalyst.
The site plan calls for 2,250 square feet of street-level commercial space.
According to city documents, the unnamed 245-foot tower will encompass nearly 319,000 square feet. It will also feature 2,250 square feet of street-level commercial space and a 230-space screened parking garage.
The project will provide 228 bicycle parking spaces, 10-foot sidewalks, right-of-way landscaping and trees. While the building’s units would rent for market rates, Stadler believes it could also house students, particularly upper-classmen and those pursuing graduate degrees.
“What a great location,” he added. “It’s close to the water. Close to Central (Avenue). And you can hop on the highway easily right there.”
Stadler referred to I-175, which empties onto 4th Street in front of the project site. The property is currently home to a one-story building.
The 5,000-square-foot structure, constructed in 1920, houses Fresnius Kidney Care American Dialysis Center. John Stadler said he has not heard “anything negative” regarding the 105-year-old building’s potential demolition.
“As a matter of fact, the city has come back out and said they didn’t expect there would be any substantive basis for an objection,” he continued. “It’s not registered (historic), and it’s not on any list to be registered.”
The current building at 446 4th St. S. Image: Google Street View.
However, Stadler said he always expects neighborly issues to arise. He believes one of the townhome residents to the east of the property has submitted an opposition letter. He also reiterated that “there aren’t a lot of red flags” that should affect site plan approval.
The project already has at least one prominent proponent. Alison Barlow, executive director of the Innovation District, said additional housing options would benefit area institutions.
The 560-acre district adjacent to downtown is home to Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, Orlando Health Bayfront Hospital, the Poynter Institute, U.S. Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg and the Dali Museum. Barlow believes the lines between residential neighborhoods and strictly commercial areas have blurred.
“What we’re seeing and hearing is that business districts are a great place for multifamily housing, and I don’t disagree,” Barlow said. “Some employees have roles that require them to be within a certain distance of their employer. For example, someone at a hospital may have a report time within 30 minutes when they’re on call.
“So creating spaces that integrate live, work and play is really important.”
The development is within walking distance of several Innovation District anchor institutions.
Stadler’s site plan will go before the St. Petersburg Development Review Commission on March 5. The city council will ultimately decide the project’s fate.
Stadler would acquire the property, currently owned by Marti Realty LLC, for an undisclosed price following site plan approval. The development team includes Baker Barrios Architects, engineering firm George F. Young and Trenam Law.
John Stadler was part of a group that developed the 15-story Camden Central apartment complex downtown and the 21-story Modera St. Petersburg tower along the Pinellas Trail. He and John Barkett led the former Apogee Real Estate Partners firm when it sold land bordering the Warehouse Arts District that will soon become another high-rise development, Gallery Haus.
Stadler enlisted his son to help lead his new venture, and the proposed project is their first as sole developers. They plan to break ground in the second quarter of 2026.
“We’re excited about the future of the city,” Chris Stadler said. “And we are particularly excited about getting first-mover advantage in both the Warehouse Arts District and Innovation District.”
Stadler Development plans to break ground on the project in the summer of 2026.
Georgia Earp
January 15, 2025at5:30 pm
Agree completely! I would like to see the new owner finance and work with Preserve the Burg to relocate the beautiful old building currently on the property.
Bill Herrmann
January 15, 2025at4:20 pm
Let me begin by saying, they have the legal right to this project.
That said….. USF hosts a “School of Architecture and Community Design”, I am confident that a professor in that department would give this design a C-! The college seeks to replace a wonder, old building that is eligible for designation, with a simplistic glass, lego-block design.
St. Petersburg deserves better, the building that is being demo’d deserves better and USF St. Petersburg is capable of better designs than this!