Places This Week: King of the Coop opens; Apartments sell for nearly $15M

A weekly roundup of local real estate deals. 

St. Petersburg apartments sell 

The Casa De La Rosa apartment complex in St. Petersburg has switched hands. 

Boca Raton-based Nordica Bay LLC, which is connected to Starka Properties Inc., purchased the complex at 120 47th Ave. from Miami-based Schottenstein Realty Company in a $14.9 million deal. 

The 62-unit complex sale breaks down to $240,323 per unit, or $225.25 per square foot. 

The complex, built in 1974, has two four-story buildings and is one block from 4th Street. 

The amenities include a pool and an on-site laundry facility. 

The Nordica Bay LLC entity took out a $12.24 million mortgage with Bravo Bridge Fund LLC for the purchase. 

King of the Coop opens in St. Pete 

The King Of the Coop chicken chain is opening its first-ever Pinellas County restaurant location in St. Petersburg.

King of The Coop’s hot chicken sandwich and hush puppies. Photo provided.

King of the Coop started operating in Tampa Bay in 2019 and its founder, Joe Dudd, has opened restaurants in Seminole Heights, Wesley Chapel and South Tampa. 

The St. Pete site will open Saturday at 6928 22nd Ave. N., across from the Tyrone Mall. 

The St. Pete menu will be similar to other King of the Coop locations across Tampa Bay, with chicken sandwiches with signature Nashville hot chicken sauce. King of the Coop also features chicken and waffles, hot chicken-topped fries and mac and cheese along with sides such as hush puppies. 

Palm Harbor home sells for over $2 million

A gulf-front estate at 502 Driftwood Drive W. in Palm Harbor has sold in a $2.1 million deal. 

The home at 502 Driftwood Drive W., Palm Harbor. Zillow.

The 4,410-square-foot home, which was listed for nearly $2.4 million, features over 1,000 square feet of deck and balconies with glass railings, providing panoramic views of the gulf.   

Built in 1959, the home was renovated in 2016 and has six bedrooms and four bathrooms, including two mother-in-law suites. 

The waterfront view from inside one of the bedrooms. Zillow.

Inside, there are floor-to-ceiling windows and hardwood floors throughout. 

The property also features a  pool and a dock with a boat lift. 

The description states there is no HOA and this could be a potential Airbnb property; however, the listing agent Michelle Massingill with HomeSmart said this will be the buyer’s primary home. 

The home last sold in 2012 for $1 million. 

Habitat for Humanity, Sugar Hill, Blue Sky and others bid on site near Tangerine Plaza 

The City of St. Petersburg received four additional proposals from groups vying to purchase the city-owned site at 2100 18th Ave. South. 

The proposals were submitted after the city received an unsolicited proposal from the Green Mills Group, which offered the city $1 million to purchase or lease the same site.

Here’s more on the proposals: 

A rendering showing the front fascade of the townhome units. Image: Habitat for Humanity

• Sugar Hill Group LLC, in partnership with the New Urban Development, is proposing to build 95 affordable housing units at the site. The Sugar Hill Group, which is the same team slated to redevelop nearby Tangerine Plaza, is offering the city $1.5 million for a 75-year-long lease.
• Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas and West Pasco Counties is vying to purchase the site for $750,000 to build an affordable housing development tailored for low-income homeownership – solving one of the city’s biggest challenges. 
• The PARC Center for Disabilities is proposing to acquire the site to develop a new educational campus. PARC states its existing 7.5-acre campus in Tyrone, which has served the community for over 50 years, is no longer feasible and is costly to maintain. The organization did not indicate the monetary amount it was offering to the city. 
• Tampa-based Blue Sky Communities LLC is offering the city $1 million to purchase the site to build a 67-unit affordable apartment complex. It would be for those who earn 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI). 

City receives a new unsolicited proposal for South St. Pete site 

St. Pete-based development group Namasté Homes LLC is seeking to acquire the property at 1805 18th Ave. South for a townhome development that would be designated for residents earning below 120% of the AMI. 

“We propose to achieve increased affordability by providing seller financing to the purchasers of homes in this development and thus avoid many of the other add-on expenses such as mortgage insurance, appraisal fees, mortgage originator fees and the like that specifically new homeowners are often saddled with,” Namasté wrote in its proposal. 

Namaste’s rendering of its proposed affordable townhome development at 1805 18th Ave. South in St. Petersburg. Namaste/City of St. Petersburg documents

The community would feature 11 townhomes. The roughly 1,300-square-foot units in the two-story townhomes would be priced at $215,000. 

Because Namasté submitted an unsolicited proposal to purchase the site, the city is inviting any alternative proposals from private developers interested in undertaking the lease, purchase or development of the site.

Proposals must be submitted by 10 a.m. March 9.