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 apartments and The Hermitage along with projects just starting to go vertical like NRP’s new 8-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.

Bliss, the 18-story residential building just off of Beach Drive has sold 28 of 29 units with an average sale price in the low $500s per square foot.  Completion of Bliss is expected in December of this year. 

Three blocks south, at the site of Pinellas County’s future tallest building, ONE St. Petersburg is experiencing similarly strong sales. According to Dave Traynor, Vice President of Real Estate and Developer Services for Smith & Associates, who is handling sales for ONE St. Petersburg, says 123 of 253 units have been sold with an average selling price of over $1 million. Despite construction barely being above ground level, ONE St. Petersburg is half sold and has been dubbed the “#1 Selling Condominium in Tampa Bay”. ONE St. Petersburg is on schedule to be completed in December of 2018.  

Near the Innovation District in the southern portion of downtown is The Salvador, a 13-story condo building that is currently on the sixth floor of construction. Keeping pace with other downtown developments, The Salvador is 78% sold with only 16 of the building's 74 units remaining. Completion is on track for early 2017. 

On the horizon, expect developers to model projects after boutique luxury condominium buildings such as Bliss due to the high value of land in Downtown St. Pete.  Strong sales for new condo units and limited inventory of resale condos will continue to make Downtown St. Pete a strong market for new residential development.