Place
History repeats with Cade Allen home viewing

A local developer offered the public a chance to step back in time Wednesday night before embarking on a significant restoration project in downtown St. Petersburg.
Backstreets Capital, led by founder and president Will Conroy, hosted an open house at the historic Cade Allen home at 250 Mirror Lake Drive, allowing visitors to tour the property and learn about the upcoming renovation plans.
The Cade Allen home restoration is part of a larger development project that includes the construction of a new single-family home and a seven-story condominium building on the same parcel. Backstreets will restore the structure before commencing construction of the condominiums.
Wednesday’s event provided an opportunity for the community to explore the historic structure before construction begins. The open house was inspired by a similar event held by Cade Allen himself when the house was originally built.
“When we were doing our research about the house before we bought it, we found a newspaper advertisement that when Cade Allen developed this house, he invited the public to come see it,” Conroy explained. “This is a little bit of history repeating itself.”

An article on display at a 2025 home viewing event of the Cade Allen-designed home at 250 Mirror Lake Drive brought history full circle.
Conroy emphasized that the overall development plan is designed to fit harmoniously within the neighborhood.
“The condo building only has 15 units, so the idea and our thesis behind it is that this is going to be a boutique, highly individualized condominium building that fits in the neighborhood,” Conroy said, adding that the idea for the development was inspired by Backstreets’ own office space nearby.
“We spent four years every day on Mirror Lake, and we understood that it’s not really a high-rise location. This is a location for a unique, highly cultivated product, and we’re excited that The Cade, which is named after Cade Allen, will be located here.”

Dozens of invited guests and the general public walked through the historic 1937 home, which was built by noted local developer Cade Allen for Mrs. Ena Jackson.
The restoration of the Cade Allen home is expected to take between nine to 12 months. Conroy said the project recently received its permit, allowing construction to begin in earnest next week.
Pioneering homebuilder Cade Allen, which the Allendale neighborhood is named after, built the existing two-story, eight-bedroom home in 1937. The 88-year-old residence is not listed on local and national historic registers. However, the city classifies the 4,000-square-foot home as a “contributing structure of the downtown historic district.”
The firm plans to incorporate materials and designs Allen used into the renovations on the current home and the new two-story home that will be built on the northeast corner of the property.

Floorplans show what’s in store for the renovations at 250 Mirror Lake Drive. Images provided.
“We are trying to stay as true to original form as we can,” Conroy said. “The designs are from Elizabeth Hallock at EDAD Studio and Cassie Gardener at All Trades Historical Restoration is a key subcontractor for us. Mike Fox from Fox Building Group is the general contractor, so we’re trying to keep it as close [to the original design] as we possibly can, and we think the buyer is going to be somebody who really appreciates those details.”

Tiled windows on the south-facing side of the Cade Allen home at 250 Mirror Lake Drive.
Manny Leto, executive director of Preserve the ‘Burg, previously lauded Conroy and his team for their extensive public outreach, noting, “It’s possible to create something new – not just honoring the past with a mural or marker – but incorporating the past to create a compelling new development.”
The project holds personal significance for Conroy and his family-owned business.
“Our forefathers actually settled in St. Petersburg in the early 19-teens, and when they did, they owned a business less than three blocks from here,” he shared. “History sort of repeats itself, and the family is back doing business on Mirror Lake 100 years later.”
While Backstreets has not set a construction timeline for The Cade, city conditions stipulate that “substantial construction” must commence by September 2027.
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