Abacus Tower

After sitting underutilized for years, the windowless Frontier building at 821 1st Avenue North is finally set to see new life.

Plans have been filed with the City of St. Petersburg to redevelop the seven-story, 233,590-square-foot office and data center, which is partially leased by Frontier Communications. The proposed redevelopment includes 41,333 square feet of ground-floor retail space, 137,663 square feet of self-storage, and 54,594 square feet of office space.

Originally constructed in 1928 by the General Telephone Company of Florida, the building was expanded in 1967 and 1970. It remains a key part of St. Petersburg's internet infrastructure, housing extensive fiber optic cable, switch rooms, frame rooms, and generators as large as jet engines.

A 21-story apartment tower will be erected on a surface parking lot along Arlington Avenue and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street, despite opposition from property owners of the abutting townhomes.

New York-based real estate investment firm Abacus Capital Group received site plan approval from the St. Petersburg Development Review Commission on Tuesday February 7th for the $109 million mixed-use project. 

The development calls for 292 market-rate apartments, ground-floor retail, and a 373-space parking garage at 825 Arlington Avenue North, a parcel the group purchased in 2022 for $10.75 million. 

New plans have emerged for an apartment tower on an empty lot on the corner of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street North and Arlington Avenue in downtown St. Pete.

The 21-story residential building is being planned by AMFP VI Saint Petersburg LLC, an affiliate of New York-based real estate investment firm Abacus Capital Group. Abacus purchased the 0.78-acre site for $10.75 million in April 2022.

Abacus Capital Group is a private real estate investment firm founded in 2004 and has acquired 31,000 units and invested $4.8 billion into multifamily on behalf of its investors since 2021.