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Renovation planned at St. Petersburg’s Gateway Market Center
Gateway Market Center, one of the larger shopping malls in St. Petersburg, will get a facelift under a plan approved Wednesday by the city’s Development Review Commission.
The owner of part of the strip center on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street North, between 78th Avenue and 83rd Avenue North, plans to demolish about 65,000 square feet in the middle of the building and construct two new buildings and two additions totaling 70,600 square feet, according a city staff report to the DRC.
Gateway Market Center has a total of 426,495 square feet. Its tenants include Target, Publix Super Markets and Bealls, among others. The space where Target is located, at the north end of the shopping center, is under different ownership and won’t be impacted, the report said.
A drawing submitted to the DRC shows the renovation beginning at the southern end of the existing Publix, and indicates the existing Bealls would be demolished.
A drawing submitted to the Development Review Commission shows planned changes at part of Gateway Market Center.
Commissioners did not ask for details about the store tenants that would be impacted, although one commissioner noted that was the site of a fatal accident earlier this year, when a minivan crashed into the back of the store.
A request for comment from the owner of the center was pending return.
Demolishing the center part of the building allows vehicles entering the shopping center from 4th Street and 79th Terrace North to have direct access to the parking lot. Currently, vehicles entering from 79th Terrace North have to navigate through the loading area in the back of the buildings to get to the parking lot.
The renovation will result in two strip center buildings, with building additions at the end caps of the buildings. Two new outparcel buildings, with large storefront windows, will be constructed in the existing parking lot, and the owner of the property will upgrade the exterior façade of the existing shopping center buildings to match the new buildings, the application said. There also will be new pedestrian sidewalks connecting the existing buildings with the new outparcel buildings.
There were no details provided on when the renovation work would begin or be completed, or the total cost of the project.
kathy
October 24, 2020at10:12 pm
It is MOST important that we know if we are losing our anchor Bealls Store as target is NO PLACE to buy any kind of quality clothing.
jackie baker
September 18, 2020at8:06 pm
this sounds Like a good change,i am Looking forward to seeing it when it’s finished.
esmeralda
September 18, 2020at6:07 pm
thank you to the owner of the gateway mall.
Catherine Hamel
August 19, 2020at6:01 pm
Sounds like this could be quite an improvement, drawing a greater number of shoppers to this mall. Of course, this all depends upon which shops remain,the type of new ones added and just how long shoppers will be dealing with the noise, dirt & dust of construction. Please keep us timely apprised of this situation. With Thanks.
Virginia Hughes
August 19, 2020at3:46 pm
Hope they move the buses away from the exits as it is very difficult to see around them when pulling out onto 78th Avenue by Home Goods.