A 13-story building featuring 60 apartments and 60 short-term rentals is slated for the 10,000-square-foot property at 1663 1st Avenue South in downtown St. Pete’s Grand Central District.

The St. Petersburg City Council, meeting as the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), unanimously approved the plans on Thursday, finding it consistent with the Intown West Redevelopment Plan (IWRP).

The plan will go before the Development Review Commission on December 4th.

The property is currently developed with a commercial building that was previously the home of Sunshine Kitty Catfe, Tampa Bay’s first cat café which debuted in 2019, and the Dolman Law Group, which has an office in Clearwater.

Tampa-based BendinRoad Development, in partnership with Landings Real Estate Group, is pivoting from their initial vision to create an 8-story 97-unit apartment building, which was previously approved by the CRA in 2023.

The project would've been journeying into mostly uncharted territory for ground-up construction in modern downtown St. Pete by including zero parking spaces for 97 apartments.

Per regulations, which were passed in September of 2019, new developments in downtown St. Pete do not need to provide any parking for residential units under 750 square feet.

However, according to Craig Bazarsky of BendinRoad Development, the plan was reconfigured because the initial iteration no longer made financial sense.

"The economics of the previous plan do not work anymore due to the rising cost of construction, insurance, and debt," said Bazarsky in a conversation with St. Pete Rising.

The new $22 million proposal introduces a taller building with more units. It also includes 12 parking spaces, which is still significantly less than other residential communities in the neighborhood.

Additionally, half of the units will now be short-term rentals, with the ability to be rented nightly, weekly, or monthly.

BendinRoad is currently under construction on a similar project in Tampa called The Residences at 801 Whiting, which is expected to open in early 2025. That project will include 52 short-term rental units, 52 apartments, and five parking spots.

Bazarsky said his group plans to address the reduced parking count in Tampa by providing an off-site parking lot. Something similar could be done in St. Pete.

"Our Tampa project is located in urban, walkable neighborhood. We don't believe all of our residents will have cars," said Bazarsky. "But for those that do, we have an off site parking lot located a three to five minute walk away."

The St. Pete project is expected to be 165 feet tall with a four-story base before being set back along the north side.

The first floor will consist of a lobby shared by residents and hotel guests, a club room, back-of-house facilities, 12 surface parking spaces, and a dozen bike spaces.

Floors two through five will have a total of 54 short-term rental units.

The sixth floor will have six short-term rental units and six apartments.

Floors 7 through 12 will contain 54 apartments.

The 13th floor will have indoor and outdoor amenities as well as co-working space, a fitness area, and a pool, which residents and short-term rental guests will have access to.

The short-term rental units will be fully furnished and include an Ori Cloud Bed, a robotic bed/couch combo designed for micro living. With the touch of a button, the bed silently floats up and disappears into the ceiling, revealing living space that's ideal for lounging or entertaining.

The apartments will be semi-furnished, also with an Ori Cloud Bed.

The project will have a Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of 7.0, which is the max density permitted in the Downtown Center-2 (DC-2) zoning district.

The developer is working with Kimley-Horn and Associates Inc. as the civil and landscape architect and Jacksonville-based architect firm Bold Line Design Inc., which worked on the previously planned project at the property.

Bazarsky hopes to break ground on the project by the end of 2025.