New Condos & Apartment Projects Booming in Downtown St. Petersburg

According to I Love the ‘Burg, there are a number of new construction projects underway in St. Petersburg. After a dry spell, the demand to create space for living and working in downtown St. Petersburg looks to be higher than ever.

The article says that part of the reason for this is that Johns Hopkins, which merged with All Children’s Hospital in 2011 – is said to be putting a significant research and development center at the old All Children’s site–a move certain to be a game changer for the ‘Burg.  If word on the street of the Johns Hopkins expansion is true, it would create hundreds of high-end and mid-level jobs in downtown St. Pete and join the significant developments along the waterfront district including The Shops at St. Pete, the new St. Petersburg Pier, and an expansion at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg.

The residential side of things is also looking brighter. When the economy first began to tank, so-called real estate “experts” said that St. Pete was left with a 7 year surplus of condos. In not even half that time, inventory, even the most expensive properties, is nearly non-existent.

Personally at our office on Beach Drive, we daily have folks coming through our doors looking for rental apartments and condos, and there are often not more than a handful available on any given day.  I even have a client looking for a luxury condo for rent downtown with a budget up to $5,000 a month and there’s been nothing available for the last several months.  And when luxury buildings like Ovation have hardly any inventory available – one has to wonder if we don’t need more affordable housing, as well as luxury condo projects, to become available soon.

From the article: “The latest project on the horizon is a new 250 to 350-unit luxury apartment development at 700 1st Avenue South that should be presented to the city in the next 90 days. The units are said to cater specifically to jobs that will be created by the University of South Florida St. Petersburg and All Children’s Johns Hopkins.

At least 8 new projects have been given the green light for future ground breaking. 7 of 8 are brand new buildings, which will release over 1,400 units to the market by early or mid 2014.

Southwest view of Bayway Apartments

At the lot northwest of The Shops at St. Pete and Muvico will sit the new Bayway Lofts, an eight story, 309-unit luxury apartment building that is currently under construction.

Four other residential buildings will straddle 4th Avenue South.

Osprey Properties will begin construction on the northeast corner of 3rd Street where an empty lot currently sits. The 18-story building will boast 357 apartment units and will significantly transform our downtown skyline.

A five story apartment building is planned for the southwest corner of the same street, another empty lot, that will add 125 family units. The construction documents have been submitted to the city, and permit approval is still pending.

Further west in the current Tampa Bay Times parking lot, the 4th Avenue South Residences will take up an entire city block. The four story building will house 325 units. Permit approval is also pending.

Campbell Landings.

The last of the 4th Avenue South buildings is Campbell Landings, a five story, 96-unit building similar to St. Pete’s current City Place Apartments. It will offer affordable living options to the 55+ crowd and has already started construction on the northwest corner of 6th Street.

This demand is also spreading to neighborhoods surrounding downtown.

“Every time we find something, it ends up getting multiple bids,” says Jim Steiner who recently relocated to the area from DC with his partner and recent Top Chef contestant Jeffrey Jew. They’re looking in the Old Northeast. His statement echoes the sentiments of 2006 and 2007 when St. Pete began to boom just before the stock market dropped.

Steiner moved to St. Pete to take an executive position with C1 Bank, which employs over 200 people in the Bay area and recently moved into a new, high-tech headquarters downtown.”

There are a couple of additional projects that I am aware of not mentioned in the article above.  The first is the new condo development at the corner of 1st Street N and 4th Ave N – Maranatha by the Bay.  This project will be a boutique style condo building one block from Beach Drive with only 19 units.  Each unit will feature stainless appliances, granite countertops and sweeping city and water views.  Units are currently available pre-construction starting from $475,000.

Speaking of Beach Drive – the second project coming soon is listed with Smith & Associates Real Estate.  The Renaissance City Homes in Downtown St. Petersburg will feature only 4 absolutely luxurious homes. Two private residences encased within each building; two buildings share ample green space and offer individual private courtyards. In the style of Chicago, New York or Boston Brownstones, these buildings reflect the same craft, detail and proportion. Enjoy roof top views, 3 car garage, elevator, low energy cost, impact windows, natural gas, masonry walls, minimum management fees and the added convenience of downtown living! These homes feature over 6,000 square feet under air, 4 bedrooms and 5 and one half bathrooms, 3 car garage and dwarf in size anything else available downtown.  Click for current pricing.

Meanwhile – just outside the urban core in popular Snell Isle, a 95-unit condominium and townhouse project stalled by the recession could start rising along the Snell Isle Inlet by the end of the year, according to Tampa Bay’s Business Journal.

“We stopped when the economy crashed,” said Carlos Yepes of Belleair Development Group in Pinellas Park. “We are now seeing a lack of inventory,” he said. “We have to start planning ahead because construction is going to take about 18 months.”

The project, called Water Club Snell Isle, will offer 84 units in two nine-story towers (including two stories of parking), plus 11 townhouses. Units will range from 1,671 square feet to 1,921 square feet. Yepes said the price point hasn’t been finalized but rumors say they will start around the $400,000 mark. (UPDATE – more info on these has been released here!)

The 5.25-acre site is in the 1300 block of Snell Isle Blvd. N.E. in St. Petersburg, across from St. Raphael Catholic Church. It used to be occupied by Snell Isle Plaza. Water Club Snell Isle also includes a 56-slip marina, which was renovated earlier.”

With all that’s going on in St. Pete, we may be calling it Florida’s mini-Manhattan in no time!

Click to Search Inventory in Downtown St. Petersburg Homes & Condos!