Investor planning a community for digital nomads in St. Pete

An established serial entrepreneur wants to develop a boutique community filled with micro-units that can provide flexible leasing for artists or entrepreneurs visiting downtown St. Pete. 

San Eng, a managing partner of real estate investment firm Skytian Capital, sees an opportunity to help solve the lack of flexible leasing options in St. Pete by transforming two downtown properties into a community called Satsoshi’s Hideout to bring creatives and digital nomads to the city. 

“If someone is in town pitching investors but doesn’t have an office, they need somewhere to stay close by,” Eng said, giving an example of how someone may visit the city to pitch ARK Invest, which recently opened its St. Petersburg headquarters. He also said given the proximity to hospitals, there’s a lack of furnished affordable residential units for nurses, which would be another target demographic. 

Inspirational renderings of Satoshi’s Hideout.  

“We are seeing people priced out of staying in downtown, and we want to be the pioneers to bring this tech-focused and affordable space,” Eng said. 

The two buildings at 425 2nd St. N., which are the Park Plaza Apartments, and the apartment building at 424 2nd St. N., will be flipped into 41 modern units to create Satoshi’s Hideout.

Skytian Capital closed on both properties this week. The firm paid $4.2 million for the Park Place Apartments and $1.72 million for the smaller complex across the street, according to Pinellas County records. 

The units at Satoshi’s Hideout would range from 200 to 400 square feet, similar to a hotel room, but will include a full kitchen and bath. 

Eng, an expert in Web3, said the complex is named after Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious creator of Bitcoin. The complex will encourage the use of digital money by accepting crypto payments from tenants who may lease a unit for days or weeks.

The units would be outfitted with technology such as smart doorbells, and the complex would have electric billing and possibly a robot to collect trash. 

Eng said more units could potentially be added in the form of Airstream RVs, which could be situated on the rooftop of the building – a concept other metros have adopted. 

Inspirational renderings of Satoshi’s Hideout.  

The residential community would have meeting spaces, a cafe in the courtyard, a rooftop lounge, fast WiFi and a display of the latest NFTs (non-fungible tokens). Eng said he envisions tech leaders hosting discussions in the courtyard of Satoshi’s Hideout. 

“We want to build this community space and legacy in St. Pete that’s not another luxury condo. This space will teach people about tech and can draw more entrepreneurs to the city,” Eng said. 

Eng said he estimates it will take six to nine months to build out the units and it will not have the Satoshi branding until it’s complete. 

He is currently working with designers to craft custom furniture for the units.