Development plans change for 93-acre Gandy site

The Greystar Development real estate group transforming a 93-acre Gateway property into a large industrial park and residential community is overcoming a roadblock hindering the development’s timeline. 

During an Oct. 19 St. Petersburg City Council meeting, representatives of Greystar, a subsidiary of South Carolina-based Greystar Real Estate Partners, stated they found adverse subsurface soil conditions at the site located on the northwest corner of Gandy Boulevard and the Interstate 275 interchange. 

“This is certainly not something we wanted or was brought on,” Trenam Law land use attorney Don Mastry said. 

He explained the soil status discovered during construction is causing the delay in delivering two of the three industrial buildings. The initial space in the first phase, including the multifamily component, was expected to become available earlier this year. 

St. Petersburg-based tech giant Jabil Inc. previously eyed the site for a potential HQ, but pursued a different location and sold the Gateway property in a roughly $32 million deal to Greystar Development. 

Greystar’s original plans called for 200,000 square feet of industrial warehouse space in the first phase within a 60-acre portion. The group could build 500,000 to 600,000 square feet of industrial space at full buildout. 

The project would be one of the largest industrial developments in Pinellas County. The developer previously estimated that the industrial project would result in at least 3,300 jobs, according to city documents. 

Per the initial agreement, the industrial park must be built prior to or concurrently with a mixed-income multifamily housing complex on the adjoining 18 acres. The latest plans show the residential project would entail constructing 412 units with 83 dedicated for workforce housing. 

Greystar’s 93 acres of property near Gandy Boulevard. Image: City of St. Petersburg documents.

With the new changes, 143,000 square feet of industrial would be developed instead of the originally planned 200,000 square feet; however, by 2025, Greystar would deliver an additional 147,000 square feet of industrial space. 

“The city is going to end up getting 90,000 (of additional industrial square footage),” Mastry said.

Nearly 150,000 square feet of industrial space is expected be leased, he noted. 

Greystar is working with commercial brokerage firm JLL to market and oversee the leasing of the industrial center. 

The team would complete the foundation for the additional industrial component by the end of the year when Greystar expects to receive the certificate of occupancy for the multifamily buildings.

The council unanimously pushed forward the amended development agreement. 

City staff said Greystar is demonstrating a “good faith effort” to complete the project and highlighted how the multifamily portion could sit empty for a year without the needed approval.