New six-story apartment building planned for St. Pete’s Gateway area

A grassy lot in north St. Petersburg is slated to become the site of the latest multifamily development in the Gateway area. On August 4th the Development Review Commission (DRC) held a public hearing for a proposed site plan modification of the 22-acre Ibis Walk development which is located between Dr. MLK Jr. Street and Roosevelt Boulevard just north of Gandy Boulevard. The approval paves the way for a new six-story, 127-unit apartment building.

Ibis Walk Apartments are located between Dr. MLK Jr. Street and Roosevelt Boulevard just north of Gandy Boulevard.

Ibis Walk is a mixed-use development that began construction in 2009 and was expected to have multifamily units, 77,000 square feet of retail space, and 150,000 square feet of office space. A portion of the retail space was completed in 2011 and later a 401-unit, four-story rental community, Ibis Walk Apartments, was completed in 2014. Current retail tenants in the retail space include Tijuana Flats, Freshii, 9Round Fitness, Smoothie King, Dollar General, and Yaya’s Flame Broiled Chicken.

While the project was initially billed as a potential live-work-play development, the remainder of the retail space and the proposed office space was never completed. The parcels for additional retail space and office space have remained vacant.

In 2016, TGM Communities purchased the Ibis Walk apartments for $68 million and renamed the community TGM Ibis Walk.

Site Plan for Ibis Walk Apartments in St. Pete. Phase I was completed in 2014. A Phase II has been proposed for the western portion of the community, which would bring an additional 127 units to the development.

The proposed request before the DRC was to modify the previously approved site plan to build additional multifamily units on one of the lots that was previously approved for office space. In its place would be a six-story apartment building sitting on a two-story parking garage pedestal. The building is described as second phase of TGM Ibis Walk which, once complete, will have a total of 528 units.

“TGM is thrilled to expand upon its existing multifamily footprint of some 1,000 apartment units in the dynamic and growing Gateway neighborhood of St. Petersburg,” says Zachary Goldman, Chief Operating Officer at TGM , “TGM Ibis Walk Phase II will leverage its highly convenient location and pedestrian walkability to cohesively develop and maximize synergies with the existing TGM Ibis Walk apartment community and the surrounding master plan.”

Tampa-based BDG Architects designed the new addition in a “U” shape with an outdoor amenity deck with a pool in the center. Amenities at the existing Ibis Walk community include an outdoor pool and spa, dog park, resident clubhouse, gym, and outdoor grilling areas. The ground floor of the proposed addition includes space for a leasing office or other resident amenities.

Once complete, the new building at Ibis Walk will join several other new residential developments in St. Pete’s Gateway area including Waterview, a 15-story building with 226 rental units, and Axio at Carillon, a five-story building with 298 units, both of which recently opened at Echelon City Center in Carillon.

Additionally, Jabil, a global manufacturing services company, recently completed a $61 million, 190,000-square-foot headquarters building directly across the street from Ibis Walk. Jabil currently has over 1,600 employees in Pinellas County.

City staff recommended approval of the site plan modification and the Development Review Commission agreed unanimously. The second phase of Ibis Walk is expected to break ground in St. Petersburg, FL in the first half of 2022. For more information about the request and project, refer to the City’s staff report.