Art House, a 42-story condo tower planned for 200 Central Avenue, is approved
/Art House is the latest project by Kolter Group, which previously built ONE St. Petersburg and is under construction on Saltaire.
A 42-story residential tower with parking and retail space at 200 Central Avenue will soon grace Downtown St. Pete’s rapidly evolving skyline after receiving unanimous City Council’s approval on January 13th.
Currently developed as a mixed-use, 26-story office and commercial building with a surface parking lot, the newly approved $120 million project will keep the existing building intact and add a residential tower to the now-underutilized surface parking lot.
The proposed tower, named Art House, is being developed by Kolter Group, who previously built ONE St. Petersburg and is currently building Saltaire. The tower is designed by SB Architects of Coral Gables and will include 6,100 square feet of street-level retail along Central Avenue and 3rd Street South. Floors 2-8 will serve as a 482-space parking garage, and the remainder of the tower will house 250 residential units above a 9th floor amenity deck.
At 450-feet, the Art House will be among the tallest buildings in downtown St. Pete and Pinellas County.
Striking exterior design elements, coupled with a distinctive roof crown which is in alignment with the block’s historic character, will be featured at Arthouse . SB Architects, who modified the original design in response to feedback from the Historic Preservation Division, describes the planned look as “contemporary.”
Additional site improvements include sidewalks, landscaping, improved lighting, bike parking, a new drainage system, and what is described as a “pleasurable and safe” pedestrian walking experience surrounding the new and existing building.
Located in the core area of the Intown Redevelopment Plan (IRP), the site is zoned Downtown Center-Core (DC-C), which permits the most intense development in the city with no limit on Floor Area Ratio (FAR) or height in order to create “a diverse and vibrant downtown which serves as a center for employment, entertainment, and retail activities.”
Similar projects in the IRP that have been approved by the Council include nearby ONE St. Petersburg (42 stories) and the soon-to-be-built Ascent St. Petersburg (36 stories) and 400 Central (45 stories) towers.
Art House will include 6,100 square feet of ground floor retail.
City Staff and the Development Review Commission determined that the proposed development is in compliance with existing zoning standards and thus consistent with the IRP, and City Council agreed.
Final building plans still must be reviewed and approved by Community Redevelopment Agency staff, and developers must comply with any conditions required by the Development Review Services staff and contribute $600,000 to the Workforce Housing Trust Fund.
Construction on Art House in St. Petersburg, FL is not expected to begin until late 2022 with an estimated completion in late 2024. Smith & Associates has been announced as the exclusive broker for the project.
