A 20-story apartment building planned for downtown St. Petersburg is one step closer to breaking ground after securing construction financing and closing on a two-acre site at 3rd Avenue South and 17th Street.  

The project was first announced in March and is being developed by Mill Creek Residential. Plans for the project were approved by City Council in June and will consist of a 20-story and an 8-story apartment building with 383 rental units, 15,316 square feet of commercial space, and a 475-space parking garage. This would be the company’s second project in downtown St. Pete after developing Modera Prime 235, now known as Cottonwood Bayview, in 2014.

Named “Modera St. Petersburg” in submitted documents, the proposed building will be located on the site of an industrial warehouse at 201 17th Street South. Mill Creek purchased the site for $10.3 million from Tricera Capital in a transaction that closed November 19th. Additionally, Mill Creek simultaneously closed on an $83.9 million construction loan from PNC Bank.

“Mill Creek is excited to develop our second community in downtown St. Petersburg, and we believe the building’s proximity to the Edge District, Warehouse Arts District and Grand Central District will be desirable to residents seeking a luxury high-rise experience in one of Florida’s most dynamic downtown environments,” says Damon Kolb, Vice President of Development in North Florida for Mill Creek Residential.

Once complete, Modera St. Petersburg will be the tallest building in the western half of downtown at 206 feet tall and will feature one-, two-, and three-bedroom units. The community will have a sixth-floor rooftop pool as well as a rooftop deck on the 20th floor. Ground floor retail space will front the Pinellas Trail with hopes of activating it with restaurants and shops. 

Recently, John Barkett, owner of Barkett Realty, revealed a concept vision for a network of parks and green spaces that would reenvision underutilized space under I-275 and connect to the Pinellas Trail. The concept would see a large plaza area planned just west of the Modera St. Petersburg site.

Demolition of the existing industrial warehouse is slated to begin later this month with vertical construction beginning next year. Completion is tentatively planned for late 2023.

“The City of St. Petersburg has done a great job cultivating a true live-work-play environment, and our location adjacent to the Pinellas Trail will provide residents easy bicycle access and walkability to downtown's variety of attractions,” says Kolb. “We look forward to getting the construction process started on this mixed-use community later this year and we'll continue to evaluate other opportunities in St. Petersburg.”