Storm-damaged St. Pete tower to become boutique hotel

A vacant tower in downtown St. Petersburg has gained notoriety since Hurricane Milton tore a gaping hole in its facade. It could soon become a boutique hotel. 

Gianco Companies plans to demolish the decaying 11-story building at 300 Central Avenue and build a 73-key branded hotel. The Tampa-based development and investment firm acquired the property in 2017. 

Steve Gianfilippo, founder and CEO of Gianco, submitted long-awaited site plans for city review Monday. He initially envisioned restoring and repurposing the building until back-to-back hurricanes “put the brakes on everything.”

“We went into entitlement mode – looking at what we could do,” Gianfilippo told the Catalyst. “We thought we were going to need a lot of variances. To our surprise, the zoning allows us to do a really nice-looking building in a great location.”

Hurricane Milton sheared the stucco off the dormant building. Photo by Mark Parker.

Construction on the current building at the southwest corner of Central Avenue and 3rd Street began in 1925. It housed stores and office space before becoming a hotel and, eventually, the Coronet 300 apartments. 

Gianfilippo once planned to transform the building into luxury apartments and short-term rentals. However, the pandemic “stopped everything in its tracks.” 

Downtown St. Petersburg then became saturated with condominiums and new residents who needed additional lodging options for visiting family and friends. Gianfilippo said it made “way more sense” to convert 300 Central back into a hotel. 

Gianco was “full speed ahead” on that project and nearly signed a contract with a hotel brand in 2024. “Then the storms hit,” Gianfilippo said. “And it kind of made us rethink our business plan.” 

The hurricanes provided a silver lining, as the preservation-focused firm decided to, atypically, start from scratch. Gianfilippo believes a “true boutique, branded hotel is absolutely the highest and best use for that corner.” 

Gianco owns or has invested in several properties throughout the area, including Station House and the Cordova Inn. Gianfilippo noted that St. Petersburg is a “beautiful place” to host corporate and private events. 

He said 300 Central can serve as a group meeting spot, and “you can’t replace the energy in a hotel lobby.” The new building’s 2,500 square feet of street-level commercial space will “certainly” include a bar. 

Ground level commercial space will front Central Avenue.

The estimated $20 million project will also feature a ground-floor lobby and a second-level mezzanine with an additional 1,500 square feet of retail space. A 17-story, 172-foot building will offer a covered patio adjacent to the lobby, a 1,615-square-foot exterior deck on the eighth floor and a rooftop canopy encompassing 815 square feet. 

Gianco, in city documents, described the hotel’s design as “modern minimalism meets textural warmth.” It will feature just 23 parking spaces through an agreement with the adjacent First Central Tower. 

Gianfilippo said contractual negotiations with an unnamed hotel brand are ongoing. He looks forward to releasing those details and believes it will reflect and add to St. Petersburg’s identity. 

He credited the development team, which includes St. Petersburg-based Behar + Peteranecz Architecture and engineering firm Kimley-Horn, for quickly “jumping through some hoops” to get the site plan under review. Gianco is currently navigating the permitting process to patch the existing building. 

Gianfilippo said he met with neighboring stakeholders downtown and received positive feedback on the project. While high interest rates and market uncertainty will present challenges, he believes the concept will make “logical sense once we can announce the brand.” 

The St. Petersburg City Council must find the project compatible with Intown Community Redevelopment Area guidelines. The Development Review Commission will then offer final approval June 4.