An underutilized shopping center at the southwest corner of 34th Street South and 42nd Avenue South is slated to become the latest new development in the Skyway Marina District.

Plans have been filed for a mixed-use project at 4311 34th Street South that will feature 400 residential units, a 95,000 square foot self-storage facility, a 2,400 square foot bank, and a 4,500 square foot restaurant. The project is expected to go before the Development Review Commission for site plan approval on July 7th.

The residential building, named Marina Beach, will consist of an eight-story structure with six residential floors sitting atop two floors of parking and will overlook Boca Ciega Bay. An amenity deck will be located on the third floor and a resident sky lounge will be located on the eighth floor.

The self-storage facility will occupy the southeastern portion of the site along 34th Street South and will contain 750 storage units. According to renderings, the self-storage facility will be managed by LifeStorage.

Two retail outparcel buildings, which will contain a bank and a restaurant, will also front 34th Street South.

The land is currently owned by Maximo Plaza, Inc. but is under contract for purchase by Jack Dougherty of Allied Group Holdings. Allied Group previously sold a 5.25-acre parcel just south of the site to Sarasota-based LifeStar Living which is planning to construct a nine-story senior living community – The Manhattan.

In addition to selling the land for The Manhattan, Allied Group is also developing Marina Walk, a 245-unit apartment building currently under construction two blocks south at 4601 34th Street South.

Marina Beach is just the latest new development in the Skyway Marina District. In addition to Marina Beach, Marina Walk, and The Manhattan, the Skyway Marina District has seen a flurry of development lately. Sur Club, a 296-unit resort-style apartment complex and The Addison Skyway Marina, a 308-unit luxury apartment community, both partially opened earlier this year.

Additionally, Skyway Lofts, an affordable housing community, broke ground last year and will bring another 65 units to the neighborhood in 2022.

"The Skyway Marina District continues to be a hotbed of opportunity,” says St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman, “We're thankful for those investing there and for those planning to live in the residential units coming online throughout the district. Soon we'll see more commerce and restaurants, and just an overall sense of place will be established as we imagined it would be so many years ago."

The Skyway Marina District continues to attract investment and is one of the fastest growing areas of St. Petersburg. Marina Beach and the adjacent self-storage facility and retail outparcel buildings are expected to go before the Development Review Commission on July 7th.