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St. Petersburg’s Skyway Marina Mall shuts its doors
The Skyway Marina Mall has officially closed its doors.
The South St. Petersburg mall, known for being an indoor flea market, closed Feb. 13 to make way for new developments that will rise in its place.
The 112,000-square-foot facility on 34th Street, formerly known as Maximo Mall and Maximo Plaza, housed over 30 small businesses and a storage unit facility.
California-based Maximo Plaza Inc. is currently under contract to sell the shopping center this month to developer Jack Dougherty, who is planning to develop an apartment complex on the site.
A rendering of Marina Beach. Photo from Pinellas County records
His project, Marina Beach, will be an eight-story mixed-use development with 400 residential units.
Dougherty previously received city approval to develop the apartment building, a 2,400-square-foot bank, a fast-casual restaurant and a 95,000-square-foot self-storage LifeStorage facility.
The proposed bank with a drive-thru will be on the northeast corner of the property. The self-storage building will be located along the southern side, and the proposed restaurant will be situated between the bank and self-storage building.
An aerial rendering of what the proposed development would look like surrounded by the adjacent properties. Image: Pinellas County records
The mall’s tenants were reportedly notified they had to exit by Feb. 13.
“I received calls from two of the tenants asking for assistance,” said Misty Bottorff, Director of the Skyway Marina District.
Bottorff explained she then reached out to the City of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County staff to help direct the affected business owners.
The majority of vendors who spoke with county officials and others said they will either kill off their business entirely or keep their business alive by completely pivoting to selling products solely online.
“We just don’t have the retail activity for the mall,” Bottorff said, citing the need for more residential development to spur greater foot traffic for retail.
A spokesperson for The Greenhouse said the business assistance source is aware of the situation unfolding at the Skyway Mall and “have been working on a variety of components to be of assistance to all of the impacted businesses.”
In addition to the apartment complex, Dougherty is also planning to build an eight-story, 154-unit senior living to the south of the property.
Last year, Dougherty’s company, Allied Group Holdings II LLC, paid a total of $5.7 million for two parcels that made up the southern and middle half of the Skyway Mall for the planned senior living development.
Sandy
February 22, 2022at2:06 pm
There is a shortage of nice assisted living facilities for seniors. Everyone gets old. If you don’t like what you are seeing, you have the option of moving. I’m a native of south St Pete, I don’t like the growth either, but if you are wanting to live in paradise, accept it. I say anyone who has moved to the area in the past 20 years or so can go back to where they came from. Apparently where you came from is not good enough.
Motez
February 17, 2022at3:29 am
They definitely don’t need another set of unaffordable apartments. Why not renovate and upgrade the property that looks the same way it did in the 80s and 90s. Retail should be the focus. There are not many retailers in South St. Petersburg. The building looks abandoned.
Stan
February 16, 2022at1:58 pm
Considering that place has been a ghost town and an eyesore development seems like the right thing to do. If you’re not moving you’re dieing. Glad to see this is happening.
Angela Wilson
February 16, 2022at6:26 am
Saint Petersburg is developing at a rate that puts a lot of lives in question and the infrastructure is already crumbling. South Saint Petersburg is perhaps the only area of town left to develop/ exploit. Good for some but not good for many. Things sound good on paper but then the reality of affordability and easy assess ability for thousands of folk who must travel the various streets, roads, use the grid for power and utilities.