Places This Week: Jet center coming to St. Pete-Clearwater airport

A weekly roundup of local real estate deals.

82,000-square-foot jet center to be built at the St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport 

In seeing a significant uptick in jet ownership, aircraft charter and jet management company Elite Air will build a terminal and multiple hangars at the St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport. 

An aerial map showing where the planned Elite Air Jet Center will be located. Image: Southwest Florida Water Management District.

Elite Air, which currently houses its aircraft in Sheltair’s hangar at the airport, manages private aircraft in key cities throughout the United States and Europe.

The charter company has filed plans to build an 82,439-square-foot operation center on 13.5 acres of land at the airport.

A site plan of the Elite Air Jet Center at the St. Petersburg airport. Image: Southwest Florida Water Management District.

The operation center encompasses: 

• Hangar A: 18,500 square feet
• Hangar B: 19,700 square feet
• Hangar C: 27,000 square feet
• A two-story, standalone 12,229-square-foot terminal 
• A 5,010-square-foot maintenance building 

The three hangers will house aircraft including a helicopter, Legacy 600, Beechjet 400, Falcon 2000, Global Express XRSm Lear 40 and Gulfstream jets. 

“We haven’t even started construction on the center and we already need more space,” said Elite Air President and pilot AJ Becker. “All of the other site options are outdated and don’t support our growth so we are building our own facility.” 

Becker said the Covid-19 pandemic along with world events killed airline business activity for months; however, it sparked more interest in people wanting to take ownership of their own aircraft rather than having to rely on large commercial airlines. 

He is expecting the new build to be completed by summer 2024, and Elite Air will likely still house some aircraft in Sheltair’s hangar. 

Ark Innovation Center construction update

The Tampa Bay Innovation Center gave a glimpse of the active construction scene for the development of the new ARK Innovation Center. 

The Ark Innovation Center. Photo from Tampa Bay Innovation Center via LinkedIn. 

The ARK Innovation Center, formerly known as the Tampa Bay Innovation Center, will help entrepreneurs and boost the startup activity in the region by providing programming and co-working space. The 45,000-square-foot center will be the first of its kind in Pinellas County; it is to be constructed on city-donated land at 4th Street and 11th Avenue South. 

The center is expected to open in 2023. It will have 30,000 square feet on the first floor for incubator companies and another floor designated for ARK Invest – the anchor tenant. 

Cathie Wood of ARK Invest paid $2 million for the naming rights of the center and to serve as the anchor tenant. The entire project is estimated to cost over $15.8 million.

Vinoy Place condominium sells in historic deal 

A waterfront penthouse in the exclusive Vinoy Place condominium complex has sold for $7.3 million – making it the most expensive condo sale in Tampa Bay. 

The penthouse, Unit 1302 at 555 5th Ave. NE, occupies the entire top floor of the building.

Vinoy Place. GoogleMaps.

The 5,000-square-foot condo unit offers panoramic views of the city with wraparound balconies and features three bedrooms and three-and-a-half-bathrooms. It was renovated and has walnut hardwood flooring throughout most of the home that was finished on site, according to the listing. 

The unit also boasts a gourmet kitchen with Sub Zero, Wolf and Viking appliances, walnut cabinetry, Michelangelo-honed marble countertops and French limestone flooring. There’s a wine refrigerator and wet bar. 

Robyn Gunn of Premier Sotheby’s International Realty’s St. Petersburg office marketed the listing.

The property last sold in 2019 for over $3 million. 

New residential projects in the works

The St. Petersburg-based development group NJR Companies has filed plans with the city to develop a proposed new townhome development at 357 3rd St. South.

The $9.6 million project, which would be developed across the street from the Camden Pier District apartment tower, calls for 15 units within two four-story buildings on a vacant .35-acre lot. The residential project is one of several in the works for NJR.

The units will have a rooftop deck and the buildings will have first-floor garages and three levels of living space.

NJR’s project will go before the St. Petersburg City Council July 21. 

The NJR group closed on the property this week, purchasing the site for $4.5 million under the entity Aerie NJR, according to public records. 

Other developers also plan to build more residential products. 

TRB Development, founded by local entrepreneurs Trevor Burgess and Jonathan Carlo, has filed a stormwater permit for a new townhome project at 821 16th St. N. in St. Petersburg.

The group would demolish the existing 5,551-square-foot office building at the 0.29-acre site to build a four-story apartment tower and parking. 

TRB Development is working with Deuel and Associates on the project. Contractor Jonathan Meyer of JWM Residential LLC builds exclusively for TRB Development and focuses on “a transitional style infusing modern elements into classic Florida home styles,” according to TRB’s website. 

The Chalfin Group also filed a stormwater permit for its townhome project at the former site of Foxwood Farm, a premier competitive hunter and jumper equestrian center in Pinellas Park. 

The group purchased the property in May for $2 million. 

An administrator with the farm said the structures will be removed and 24 townhouses will rise in their place; however, plans filed by The Chalfin Group show it will build 32 units. 

TradeWinds’ St. Pete Beach expansion

This week, the St. Pete Catalyst broke the news that local resort operator TradeWinds Island Resorts will embark on a massive expansion in St. Pete Beach. 

TradeWinds Island Resorts, the operator of the Island Grand and RumFish Beach Resort, has filed plans to construct new buildings, adding 650 guest rooms, new pools, retail and more that would allow the resort campus to attract a new demographic.

A rendering of TradeWinds’ planned expansion on St. Pete Beach. Image provided.

“One of the reasons we are doing this now is because we’re seeing a lot of demand for upscale accommodations, it’s an unmet need in the marketplace,” said Joe Smith of 1754 Properties, the hotel owner.

The resort operator published on its website the grand scale of its vision for the beach resorts, calling it Next Generation TradeWinds. 

The proposed plans entail converting the large and mostly empty parking lots into buildings, bringing more amenities and upscale rooms. 

The expansion is privately funded and is expected to bring more than $19 million in new annual tax revenue to the community. It will create approximately 300 new permanent jobs and 500 construction-related jobs.

An exact timeline of the project and costs were not disclosed.

Habitat for Humanity to bring homeownership opportunities to South St. Pete

St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch has selected Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas and West Pasco Counties to develop land on the 2100 and 1800 blocks of 18th Ave. South into over 50 affordable housing units.

The development on the 2100 block, which Habitat calls Pelican Place, will provide 44 three-story townhomes with attached garages and driveways. The units will range from 1,000 to 1,300 square feet, with nine two-bedroom units, 26 three-bedroom units and nine four-bedroom units.

Habitat for Humanity’s rendering shows the plans for its Pelican Place townhome community along 18th Avenue South. All renderings: Habitat for Humanity/City of St. Petersburg documents.

All the townhomes are for individuals and households making at or below 80% of the area median income (AMI).

Habitat will also build units at the other site, calling it The Grove.

All townhomes at The Grove will feature three bedrooms at 1,704 square feet. As with Pelican Place, the smaller project is for those making less than 80% of the AMI, and units will sell for $225,000.

According to the city’s release, the proposed affordability period is 10 years, although the administration seeks a longer term through further negotiations with Habitat. Once both parties establish a term sheet, a Development Agreement will go to the city council for approval.