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Picture progress: Food hall, residential towers take shape
Construction crew members are hoisted on cranes to install structural beams and columns on towering projects sprouting throughout St. Petersburg.
These are some of the projects that are visually progressing in the city:
Construction for The Residences at 400 Central as of February 2023.
The Residences at 400 Central
Active construction can be seen for the 46-story tower that’s underway at 400 Central Ave.
Red Apple Real Estate, headed by New York billionaire John Catsimatidis, is developing The Residences at 400 Central. The 1.3 million-square-foot project will include 301 luxury condominiums with views of downtown and the Gulf of Mexico and will feature retail, restaurants, a rooftop terrace and up to roughly 40,000 square feet of office space.
The development team, with Suffolk Construction Company Inc. serving as the general contractor, has finished drilling in the pilings for the tower. The next step: Pouring 6,500 cubic yards of concrete for the foundation at the 2.3-acre site, which will take place over the next several weeks.
Catsimatidis recently visited the site and told the St. Pete Catalyst he may double the office space to 80,000 square feet.
Construction for Central Park St. Pete as of February 2023.
Central Park St. Pete food hall
A new food hall is well underway at 551 Central Ave. The Hi Hospitality Group broke ground in November for the five-story Central Park St. Pete food hall at the site of the old Woolworth building.
The 27,700-square-foot food hall will have 11 dining concepts, a rooftop bar, private dining and event spaces, according to the project’s website. Earlier plans showed a slightly smaller footprint.
The group plans to save the bricks from the Woolworth building and incorporate it into the new facade. The structure will also have a rooftop that will be partially enclosed.
The development team includes Tampa-based InVision Advisors, the owner’s representative firm specializing in managing the design and construction; Behar and Peteranecz Architecture, a 30-person architectural firm headquartered in St Petersburg; Barr and Barr, which are construction managers; and SA, a global firm specializing in hospitality design and consulting for food and beverage operations.
Construction for Whole Foods as of February 2023.
Whole Foods
Vertical construction has commenced for St. Pete’s first-ever Whole Foods Market.
Development partners St. Petersburg-based J Square Developers and Atlanta-based SJC Ventures are building the new 40,000-square-foot grocery store at 201 38th Ave. North., home of the former Sunshine Plaza strip mall.
The Sunshine Plaza housed Suncoast Fitness, Dollar General, Sun Country Cleaners and a Kahwa Coffee drive-thru. The demolition of the plaza started in December 2021.
Jay Miller of J Square Developers expects to hand the keys over to Whole Foods Market in March, which is when the grocer will start its interior buildout.
Construction at the site for the 2nd DCA as of January 2023.
2nd DCA building
The 2nd District Court of Appeal (DCA) facility is under construction at the site of the former state-owned Sebring building at 525 Mirror Lake Dr. N.
The three-story, 53,000-square-foot building will have 15 judicial chambers, a courtroom and a workspace to house 95 employees.
Despite challenges with funding the courthouse, it’s expected to be ready for occupancy by June 30, 2025.
Skanska USA Building Inc. and architectural and engineering firm DLR Group are on the development team.
Construction for Art House as of February 2023.
Art House
Construction continues to progress for Art House, Kolter Urban’s 42-story condo tower that will rise at 200 Central Ave.
At completion, the $140 million tower will have 244 condo units, 6,100 square feet of commercial space and a 482-space parking garage, according to the latest plans.
Art House’s floorplans will range from two to three bedrooms, several with dens, and a total of 12 penthouses on the top three floors.
On the design of the building, The Kolter Group is working with San Francisco-based SB Architects, which designed Kolter’s 41-story ONE St. Petersburg tower, the Saltaire waterfront condo development and the 18-story Ritz-Carlton Residences.
The general contractor is Miami-based Coastal Construction.
The development is scheduled to be completed by 2024.
Construction for Reflection St. Pete as of February 2023.
Reflection St. Pete
The 18-story tower that’s under construction at 8th Street and 3rd Ave. N. will feature 88 high-end units that will offer views of Mirror Lake.
The project is in the vertical construction phase at the site that was serving as a parking lot for the nearby Mirror Lake Lyceum.
The local development partners spearheading the Reflection project include Fred Hemmer, Angelo Cappelli, Nick Hansen and Dustin DeNunzio.
The development is expected to open in late 2023.
The ground floor will include a two-story lobby and retail.
Construction as of January 2023 for 2700 Central, a residential development.
2700 Central
The project dubbed 2700 Central, named after its location on Central Avenue and 27th Street, is nearing completion as it is expected to wrap up this year.
The residential development will have 2,100 square feet of living space and 2,500 square feet of ground-floor retail space that will front Central.
The concept is from Modern Tampa Bay Homes, known for its customized luxury homes in the region. The group has partnered with John Barkett of Barkett Realty on selling the units.
Construction for the Moxy Hotel as of January 2023.
Moxy hotel tops out
Construction crew members and city officials recently celebrated the topping out for the Moxy Hotel by Marriott that’s under construction at 1234-1246 Central Ave., across from Tropicana Field.
The topping out for the 163-key hotel marks the successful completion of the structural phase of the project, which will anchor The Edge Collective – a new mixed-use concept from PTM Partners and DoveHill.
Sarasota-based Kellogg and Kimsey Inc. is spearheading the construction at the 1.6-acre hotel site. PTM Partners is working with Everald Colas and Jose Miranda from the St. Petersburg-based Storyn Studio for Architecture and Grace Escano-Maniatis from the New York-based firm GEM et AL, which are serving as the interior designers.
The hotel will include 5,000 square feet of retail, which includes a large lobby on the ground floor with a coffee shop and bar. The rooftop will be activated with a rooftop pool and Sparrow, a rooftop bar with a retro theme.
The hotel is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2024.
The group is also redeveloping the adjacent three-story, 30,000-square-foot building at 1246 Central Ave., originally planned to become a food hall and house office space.
Deborah Peak
February 8, 2023at5:48 pm
This is so over the top and is all directed at those with high incomes. I was just hit with a $200/ mo rent increase. I’m 73. There goes my Social Security raise to some wealthy corporation. People are living in “apartments “ under 300 sq ft next to the wealthy in their super pent house condos. The city has lost so much history and charm. It very unaffordable.
The sounds from all this construction if maddening.
Shirley Hayes
February 7, 2023at5:53 pm
I agree Laura, there are just too many people in St. Pete. ‘Regular’ folk can no longer afford to live here. My friend has a $1500 Housing voucher and it took her most of 2022 to find a place. Finally in January 2022 after living with various relatives, she finally found a place. She now has custody of 2 nieces, elementary school children.
Laura
February 7, 2023at4:25 pm
It seems there are plenty of new apartments and condos being built in the downtown area. I don’t understand why the city feels that it is necessary to increase density in the surrounding neighborhoods as well.