Hyatt Hotel

This quarter was packed full of groundbreakings!  After over a decade of planning, construction has finally commenced on the new St. Pete pier. Construction crews have started driving piles into Tampa Bay to support the over-water portion of the pier.  It will take 6 months to complete the pile driving process, however construction on the pier deck is scheduled to begin as early as October.

In other groundbreaking news, located on Fourth Avenue North between Third and Fourth streets, the Museum of the American Arts of Crafts Movement site was fenced off this quarter for site preparation.  The $70 million privately funded museum will occupy 137,000 square feet and stand 5 stories tall. The museum will include a 100-seat auditorium, a resource library, a children's education center, a 300-seat upscale restaurant, a cafe, retail store and event space. The expected opening date is May 2019.

The fourth quarter of 2016 saw an enormous amount of progress on many of Downtown St. Pete's active developments.  The demolition of the "cheese grater" building at 400 Central Ave concluded.  The Rowdies launched an official campaign to join the MLS, which included an expanded Al Lang Stadium.  A new site plan was approved for 801 Central, which now includes a 15 and 7-story apartment building and ground-level retail.

Also, a few projects broke ground including Bainbridge 930 Central Flats, and retail along 1st Ave S that will house an Orangetheory Fitness and a yet-to-be-determined restaurant.  

Additionally, AER Apartments and The Hermitage Apartment Homes started leasing, which helped to relieve the extremely low apartment occupancy rates that Downtown St. Pete has grown accustomed to over the past few years. 

Looking to the future, we should see the groundbreaking of a few notable projects this coming quarter including The Brownstones, 801 Conway, The District on 9th, and the Museum of the American Arts and Crafts Movement.

Lastly, be sure to check out Downtown St. Pete's first, second, and third quarter development updates of 2016 to see how your favorite projects have progressed!

Downtown St. Pete has experienced an overabundance of construction over the past three months.  It's nearly impossible to walk through downtown and not run into a construction site.  For starters, the demolition of the "cheese grater" building at 400 Central Ave begun. In the EDGE District, The District on 9th townhouses were announced and the site of Bainbridge 930 Central Flats started to undergo site preparation in anticipation for new apartments and retail.  Also, The Chihuly Collection completed their move from Beach Drive to 720 Central Ave.  We cannot wait for these projects to be complete, but for now we hope you enjoy this quarter's photo update!

Construction continued on some of Downtown St. Pete's largest developments during the second quarter of 2016.  Notably, ONE St. Petersburg is now going vertical, renters began moving into AER Apartments, and construction has started on one of DTSP's newest museums, The James Museum of Western and Wildlife Art.  Be sure to check out last quarter's development update to see each project's progression.

It has been asked before and will probably be asked again, “Can Downtown St. Pete continue to absorb all of the new residential units under construction?” In the short-term, the answer is yes and, with limited supply, new units are in high demand. 

There are around 1,500 residential units currently under construction in Downtown St. Pete.  Included in this figure are apartment complexes like the soon-to-be completed AER building and The Hermitage along with projects just going vertical like NRP’s new 9-story project just south of the Tampa Bay Times’ headquarters. While developers continue to be bullish on the Downtown St. Pete rental market they also continue to do well in the condo market.

With the tailwinds of a red hot downtown real estate market at its back, ONE St. Petersburg has continued to far exceeded expectations.

Since having an official grand opening event in February around 120 units have been reserved, representing sales of over $126 million. Dave Traynor, of Smith & Associates, said about a third of the reservations have come from existing St. Pete residents while another third have come from other areas in Tampa Bay. The remaining third have come from out of area buyers primarily from the Northeast and the Midwest.

Soaring over 450 feet, ONE St. Petersburg will be the tallest building in St. Petersburg and in Pinellas County. The 41-story, 253 unit condo tower, which is expected to break ground in the first quarter of 2016, will be located at 100 First Ave N. 

I'm a little late with this post but nonetheless I'm very excited to tell you about ONE St.Petersburg, a huge new project in the heart of downtown. ONE St.Petersburg will be a 41 story, 253 unit condo tower complemented by a garage and retail base along with a second tower featuring 174 hotel rooms.

The Kolter Group is developing this $120 million project that will likely become St.Petersburg's tallest building.