Waldorf Astoria event ‘sets the bar’ in St. Pete 

The development team behind a $500 million project in downtown St. Petersburg spent over $100,000 on its model and created a mock condominium inside the City Center office building. 

However, hundreds of local leaders and stakeholders celebrated more than the Waldorf Astoria Residences St. Petersburg’s multimillion-dollar sales gallery opening Wednesday evening. Many said the swanky event and massive development represent a new chapter for a rapidly evolving city. 

City Councilmember Gina Driscoll told a packed crowd that “this is what progress really looks like in St. Petersburg.” Dan Kaplan, managing partner for development firm Property Markets Group (PMG), called it a “coming of age ceremony.” 

“I think what you’re going to see tonight is a level of excitement,” Kaplan told the Catalyst. “You’re going to see people realizing that what we’re telling you is actually happening.” 

Dan Kaplan, managing partner for Property Markets Group.

Miami-based PMG and St. Petersburg’s Feldman Equities are co-developing the city’s first luxury-branded building at 150 2nd Ave. S. The joint venture also includes City Office REIT, and Hilton will manage the 50-story skyscraper. 

Local real estate brokerage Smith & Associates is overseeing sales for what will become St. Petersburg’s tallest tower. A “local business leader” purchased a two-story penthouse for $27 million in July, a new record in Tampa Bay. 

Kaplan said the sales center opening is just the latest in what will become a series of milestones for what will eventually soar 540 feet above the downtown waterfront. “You’re going to see more success.” 

Nearly 20% of the Waldorf’s 163 luxury condominiums have already sold. Those range from roughly $2.5 million to $6 million, and Kaplan said the mock unit allows people to “really understand what they’re buying.” 

“Obviously, this is not cheap,” he added. “So, it’s very important for us to give people an experience.” 

The recently renovated City Center office tower hosted the event.

That experience began with a nearly proportional model with the same luxurious features as a Waldorf condominium. An immersive, wraparound LED screen simulated the 540-foot-tall tower’s panoramic views of St. Petersburg. 

The overarching goal was to help potential buyers and stakeholders visualize the skyline-altering tower. Kaplan said the event was the “culmination of a bunch of different professionals working together,” including “incredibly important” sales brokers and the architects and engineers who are “making sure we can actually build what we say we can build.” 

“It’s important for us to let people know that in a certain sense, we’re the least important people,” he continued. “It’s really everyone else that helped me put this all together. We’re just sort of the conductors in the orchestra.

“So, the amount of people who have come here from other places tonight should only give people some level of comfort and confidence in what’s going to happen in the future.” 

The Waldorf’s two and three-bedroom units will encompass between 2,031 and 3,408 square feet. Award-winning design firm BAMO curated custom-built closets, Italian bathroom vanities, stone countertops and smart home technologies. 

Each condominium features expansive terraces with bay vistas, private foyers and balconies designed by CUBE 3. The high-rise boasts 43,000 square feet of amenity space and a 20,000-square-foot resort-style pool deck. 

Another pool will offer dual spas, a lounge area and a bar. The 18th-floor amenity suite includes a holistic wellness center and youth entertainment club. 

A 46th-floor Sky Lounge, inspired by the Waldorf Astoria’s historic “Peacock Alley,” will feature a sunset bar, pool deck and an amenity terrace. Roughly 10,000 square feet of ground-level commercial space will likely house a public restaurant. 

The development team spent over $100,000 on this model of the 50-story high-rise.

The Waldorf will also provide over 73,000 square feet of in-demand Class A office space. However, Chris Steinocher, CEO of the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce, eagerly anticipates construction generating “thousands of high-paying jobs for the “entire region, if not the entire state.” 

Steinocher said the project brings the city to a “whole new level, and it’s a level we were expecting to get to.” He also believes stakeholders “haven’t seen the top of this yet.” 

“It just proves to us that we’re not done yet, and we don’t know how good we’re going to get yet,” Steinocher added. “But this certainly sets the bar for all of us to say, ‘Wow, St. Pete has come a long way, and how much further can we go?’”

The development will break ground in 2026. Jon Glickman, acquisition director for PMG, previously said construction would take about 30 months. 

The development team expects to break ground on the project by the summer of 2026.