St. Pete’s Anderson Group settles into a new home in Grand Central District

The Anderson Group has completed an adaptive reuse of its new headquarters in the Grand Central District.

The company moved into its new home at 2151 Central Ave. in late July, said Cory Gaffney, a partner at the private equity firm.

Anderson Group previously was located in Plaza Tower in downtown St. Petersburg but wanted its own space. The company purchased the building, formerly used as a men’s residence by the St. Petersburg Free Clinic, a couple of years ago

“We thought it was one of the last yet-to-be developed areas on Central. We liked the idea of moving into the area because everything around it, both from the east and the west, is developing nicely. The city’s done a great job, with the restaurants and stores there, of rejuvenating the area,” Gaffney said.

The Anderson Group’s new headquarters at 2151 Central Ave.

Summit Design + Build gutted and renovated the two-story, 6,900-square-foot space that was built in 1926. Summit installed new skylights, a new elevator, a second-floor deck, new bathrooms, 10 private offices, conference rooms, new windows and a new patio, according to Connect Florida, a commercial real estate news website. Design Styles Architecture provided design services for the project.

“We wanted to create an industrial feel because we are investors in industrial type businesses,” Gaffney said.

The private equity firm invests in industrial businesses and wanted an industrial feel for its headquarters.

The Anderson Group occupies the second floor and eventually plans to lease the first floor space.

The renovation included a new conference room and second-floor porch.

The space previously housed the St. Petersburg Free Clinic’s men’s residence.

The renovation cost more than the original purchase price, Gaffney said, but the company wanted a “forever home.”

“As office spaces go, we’re not surrounded by 100 different firms. We’re clearly on the vanguard when it comes to being where we are at for an office space. The restaurants, the gyms and spas are the real pioneers and we followed them out here and we’re hoping this area continues to develop as it should as St. Pete keeps growing,” Gaffney said.

The Anderson Group occupies the second floor. It eventually plans to lease out the first floor.

Moving during the Covid-19 pandemic turned out to be a good thing, Gaffney said, because it gave people something to look forward to and a reason to want to be in the office.