Earlier this year, St. Pete Rising reported on the sale of a quarter-acre site at the corner of Central Avenue and 28th Street in the Grand Central District.

The lot was sold to ASH Developers who plans to construct a 5-story mixed-use building on the site. The project is expected to include 14 residential units and two retail units fronting Central Avenue.

Now, a nearly one-acre lot just south of that site has been sold to a national real estate developer who plans to build a townhome community. Vertica Founding Partners, T. Sean Lance and Max Boehmer, had the exclusive right to sell the property and represented the owners in the transaction. The 0.86-acre site was sold to David Weekley Homes for $1,750,000.

“This is a unique block-to-block assemblage in the Grand Central District of downtown St. Petersburg,” says Lance in a press release about the sale. “The buyer is going to construct a 24-unit luxury townhome community providing additional new construction housing options to the market.”

 David Weekley Homes plans to develop a townhome project similar to their Burlington Townhomes project that was previously completed in St. Petersburg, FL in late 2020. Their planned Grand Central District development is expected to have six, three-story townhome buildings with four units each. Like the Burlington Townhomes project, buildings will likely be separated by motor courts with private garages or a landscaped walkway. 

David Weekley Homes’ townhome project is just the latest project proposed for the Grand Central District which has seen increased demand in recent years. In addition to ASH Developer’s mixed-use building at 2800 Central Avenue, a 122-unit apartment building at 3100 Central Avenue is expected to be completed later this year.

And several other townhome projects in the district are under construction and have already sold out including the 11-unit Driftwood on Central project at 2875 Central Avenue and the 19-unit Six Point Row project at 2611 1st Avenue North.

“The incredible demand in the district has been driven by its walkability and proximity to employment, shopping, and transportation networks,” says Boehmer. “There is either new construction, or new tenants coming in, on virtually every block in the Grand Central District right now. 

Vertica Partners also notes that they are currently under contract on another undisclosed site in the district for David Weekley Homes which is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021. That site is expected to yield several dozen more residential units. 

No construction schedule was announced however David Weekley Homes has deep pockets and the ability to begin construction before sales launch. Pricing for the units is expected to begin in the $500,000’s.