St. Petersburg Maritime and Defense Technology Hub proposed for the Innovation District

The building at 450 8th Ave SE | Photo Credit: City of St. Petersburg

A city-owned building at 450 8th Avenue Southeast in downtown St. Pete could soon become a hub for marine and life sciences, defense, and technology companies if a lease proposal is approved by City Council. The St. Petersburg Innovation District (SPID) has proposed to lease the 30,000 square foot building which was recently vacated by SRI Corporation.

Under the proposal, the building would become home to a new project called the St. Petersburg Maritime and Defense Technology Hub (Hub) and will house SPID’s main office. Space in the building would be sub-leased to companies in the city’s Grow Smarter target industries. The building sits in the Innovation District which is anchored by USF St. Petersburg, Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, and Bayfront Hospital.

Built in 2006, the $10 million facility was constructed using city, county, and state funding to lure SRI Corporation in hopes the company would become a catalyst for the area. The building features a sensitive compartmented information facility (SCIF), which is a room designed for secure communication, as well as wet and chemical lab space.

SRI, formerly known as the Stanford Research Institute, is a nonprofit scientific research institute headquartered in Menlo Park, California. While the recruitment of SRI had high expectations, proposal losses and other changes in focus resulted in a failure to achieve the expected employment goals.

The Hub is expected to bring together industry, government, and academia under one roof to provide a collaborative environment for its subtenants. The hope is that, while SRI struggled because of their isolation, the Hub will create an environment for tenants to pursue joint funding opportunities and facilitate other collaboration.

“The Innovation District's mission is to develop St. Petersburg into an environment that fosters job growth, economic development, and learning and inspiration by bringing innovative people and organizations together,” says Alison Barlow, Executive Director of the St. Petersburg Innovation District. “The Maritime and Defense Technology Hub will be a key addition to this mission through the work of the curated organizations that will come together in the building and their collective reach into the community.

A term sheet for the proposed lease has not been signed, but it has the support of Mayor Kriseman’s administration and received words of support from St. Pete City Council when the proposal was previewed on July 15th.

Initial interest in the space is promising. Twelve companies have committed to becoming the first sub-tenants of the Hub and will occupy over 50% of the space.

The companies range from small to mid-sized businesses and are all led by individuals who have worked for the Department of Defense or National Intelligence. The initial sub-tenants are expected to place up to 49 jobs in the Hub with an average salary of between $100,000 and $125,000 and many of the jobs will be new to the area as relocations or new hires.

SPID is also in discussions with nine additional organizations including state government entities, educational institutions, and technology companies about leasing the remaining space.

“The Hub is an example of a creative solution - leveraging the unique attributes of a building and the changing workspace needs due to COVID - that fuels innovation,” continues Barlow.

A conservative estimate has the project contributing 182 direct and indirect jobs with $14.9 million in salaries.

Proposed terms for the Hub include zero rent in the first year of operations followed by rent of $5 per square foot in Year 2 and $10 per square foot in years three through five. Additionally, the city would make a single one-time capital commitment of $250,000.

City Council is expected to vote on a proposed term sheet of the lease agreement in a future meeting.