From office towers to residential complexes: Here are the proposals for the 800 Block

The City of St. Petersburg has released the offers it received from developers on purchasing the land on the 800 Block, and developing a mix of projects from apartments to hi-rise office towers and hotels. 

The city had to open the solicitation process for the property following an unsolicited bid from the Moffitt Cancer Center, as first reported by the St. Pete Catalyst. The due date for prospects to submit bids was Sept. 15. 

On Wednesday, the Catalyst reported on one of the proposals, from Trammell Crow Residential, which proposes to build a $120 million residential development on the 4.6-acre, city-owned property at 800 1st Ave. S. 

Trammell’s proposal was one of five new proposals submitted to the city. All the proposals were published on Thursday morning. 

St. Petersburg Development Administrator Alan DeLisle said he and St. Pete Mayor Rick Kriseman will review the other offers and make the decision on which to move forward with.   

If the offer is accepted, the next steps include the group entering into a master development agreement to purchase and develop the property. It would also need to be approved by the St. Pete City Council. 

Here’s a breakdown of the other four proposals submitted to the city: 

Mill Creek Residential

Atlanta-based development group Mill Creek Residential is proposing to purchase the property for $10 million to develop a multifamily complex on a portion of the site on the northeast corner.

The offer letter states the group is seeking to develop and operate a minimum 284-unit, high-rise apartment tower. 

The complex, dubbed Modera St. Petersburg, would include ground-floor retail, parking and related amenities.

Mill Creek’s developments in the Southeast. City of St. Petersburg documents.

Mill Creek operates the existing Modera complexes in the area. It operates Modera Bayway in St. Petersburg and is constructing a 353-unit complex in Tampa. 

The group also has several properties in Orlando and South Florida.

Apogee Real Estate Partners 

Apogee Real Estate Partners LLC, a St. Petersburg-based development company, in conjunction with Orlando-based Baker Barrios Architects Inc., is offering multiple alternative offers. 

The first, Option A, would be for Apogee and Moffitt Cancer Center to enter into a master development agreement to purchase and develop the entire 800 Block. This includes the parking lot on the southwest quadrant of the site that is leased by St. Pete-based UPC, known as United Insurance Holdings Corp. 

Apogee would purchase the site for $5 million from the city. 

The parties would agree to work together on the development and construction timelines for the medical office building, an office tower, parking garage and future hotel. 

The site plan for Option A. City of St. Petersburg documents.

More on each project in Option A: 

• A 240,000-square-foot, Class A office tower. “The development plan will maximize job creation for the city by attracting top companies on a national level to relocate to the city,” the proposal read. The document states the Class A office tower alone would create 1,000 jobs. 
• A 75,000-square-foot, three-story medical office building, which is the development Moffitt was seeking to build on the city-owned site. 
• A small pad site would be available for the future development of a 125-key hotel.
• A structured parking garage with 1,250 stalls that would be open to the public on certain days and times. 

Option B: 

This option is very similar to Option A although, it includes residential and does not include an office tower. 

The site plan for Option B. City of St. Petersburg documents.

Apogee is offering the city $12 million to purchase the property for this option. 

More on each project in Option B:

• A 350-unit, Class A multifamily tower with 10% of the units dedicated to workforce housing.
• A site accommodating a 75,000-square-foot, three-story medical office building. 
• A structured parking garage with 815 stalls.
• In acquiring the property, Apogee will also honor the long-term parking lease in the southwest quadrant of the site currently utilized for parking by UPC.
• A small pad site would also be available for the potential future development of a 125-key hotel in the northeastern quadrant of the site. 

Apogee’s portfolio includes multiple St. Pete properties, including the 348-unit The Hermitage and Modera St. Peterburg, a project it is working on with Mill Creek.

Porter Development 

The Clearwater-based Porter Development has provided different options for the city to select from. 

In the first option, it entails developing a market-rate residential complex. Under this scenario, Porter Development would purchase the property for $8.5 million. 

The second option is the same as the first, but 100 residential units would be for workforce housing. Under the second scenario, Porter Development would purchase the property for $6.5 million, according to the group’s offer letter. 

Porter Development is the same group that was planning to redevelop a vacant site into a 150,000-square-foot sports center, directly southwest of Tyrone Square Mall. 

The Related Group

The Related Group, based in Miami, is proposing to develop a mix of residential, office space and a hotel at the site. The group is offering a $15 million all-cash deal for the property. 

One phase will be a 15-story residential tower with at least 360 units with a workforce housing component of 12.5%. The tower would have amenities, ground-floor retail, and a surrounding parking garage with 100 spaces available for public use, including electric car-charging stations. 

The Related Group said the residential component will be very similar to the 368-unit Icon Central apartment complex The Related Group developed, which recently sold for $150 million.

“At Icon Central, we witnessed a multi-generational renter profile spanning from young professionals to retired baby boomers, with an average household income of over $225,000; proof of how attractive the asset is to residents who are renters-by-choice,” the offer letter read. 

For the other phase, Related envisions an iconic tower with 100,000-square-foot, Class A office space and a boutique hotel, over a podium garage.

“With a critical mass of residents and visitors, there is an important need for quality new office space. Our proposed building will be designed with flexible and efficient floor plates which are highly desired by today’s large Fortune 100 companies. By providing large format plates in a modern, energy-efficient tower, we will target large fintech, hedge funds, and technology companies,” the letter read. 

The Trammell Group

Texas-based Trammell Crow Residential, one of the largest multifamily developers in the U.S., proposes to turn the city-owned 800 Block into a $120 million apartment complex. 

A rendering of Trammell’s proposed residential project on the 800 Block. The rendering was provided by Trammell.

The development would have 120 workforce housing apartments. Apartments for those earning the area’s median income would make up 30% of the units, and the remaining 70% would be 280 market-rate apartment units.

The group is offering the city $16 million for the site. 

Read more about the group’s proposal here. 

The unsolicited offer from Moffitt 

Moffitt Cancer Center and a master developer want to purchase the site to create a cancer care facility, a residential tower, and a potential future building for UPC. 

The site plan. City of St. Petersburg documents.

The city received the $5 million unsolicited offer several weeks ago from the group.

Readers can find all of the proposals here.