3rd Ave N & 5th Street Tower

New York-based developer Red Apple Real Estate has closed on the purchase of a 0.94-acre parcel in downtown St. Petersburg.

The acquisition comes weeks after the company told St. Pete Rising it was under contract to purchase the site at 233 5th Street North. The purchase closed on December 13th for $13 million — $200,000 lower than the previously announced price of $13.2 million.

The sellers acquired the property in December 2021 for $15.5 million.

Yesterday, the City of St. Pete administratively approved a site plan and density bonuses for a 23-story apartment tower proposed for the southeast corner of 3rd Avenue North and 5th Street across from the Mirror Lake Community Library in downtown St. Pete.

The 0.94-acre property was purchased in January for $15.5 million by Las Vegas-based Ault Global Real Estate Equities (AGREE), a subsidiary of BitNile Holdings, and Schock and Haywood Development led by Aaron Schock and Josh Haywood.

Back in 2018, a 21-story mixed-use residential building was approved by the City’s Development Review Commission. Although that approval is still in effect, the new owners have opted to redesign the building with a modernized design.

On Thursday, a 0.94-acre property in downtown St. Pete was sold for $15.5 million to Las Vegas-based Ault Global Real Estate Equities (AGREE), a subsidiary of BitNile Holdings. The land, which is located on the southeast corner of 3rd Avenue North and 5th Street North across from the Mirror Lake Community Library, will be the site of a new high-rise multi-family project.

“We are pleased to be in a position to acquire this property in a growing metropolitan area, surrounded by historic buildings, a public library, and various other municipal buildings,” said Christopher Wu, Chief Executive Officer of AGREE.

A 21-story residential tower has been proposed for the southeast corner of 3rd Avenue North and 5th Street North across from the Mirror Lake Community Library. According to site plan review documents submitted to the city, the proposed building will be 250 feet in height with 270 residential units and nearly 11,000 square feet of office space. 

Currently, the site is home to 100 apartments which are scattered across six buildings. The documents submitted to the city note that the existing buildings were previously analyzed for consideration to be added to the List of Eligible Properties for potential historic designation. However after review it was determined by the city that the existing buildings did not meet the criteria for historic designation.