New Second District Court of Appeal Courthouse in downtown St. Pete moves forward

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The site is currently home to the Sebring Building, built in 1968, which is scheduled to be demolished in November to make way for the new courthouse

Last year, Florida House Speaker Chris Sprowls announced the decision to construct a new courthouse for Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal (DCA) in downtown St. Petersburg. 

The decision was seen as a major win for St. Petersburg and is expected to bring jobs and investment to downtown. The $50 million courthouse will be named the Bernie McCabe Second District Court of Appeal Courthouse after the late State Attorney for Florida’s Sixth Judicial Circuit which represents Pinellas and Pasco County.

“This courthouse will serve as a physical symbol of McCabe’s deep legacy of devotion to justice and to Pinellas County,” said Speaker Chris Sprowls earlier this year.

The new courthouse will be built at 525 Mirror Lake Drive near the Pinellas County Clerk of Court and various other government buildings. The site is currently home to the Sebring Building, built in 1968, which is scheduled to be demolished in November to make way for the new courthouse.

Orlando-based DLR Group and St. Pete-based Wannemacher Jensen Architects are designing the new courthouse. The site and building plans for the redevelopment are currently in the design development stage, but key design elements were revealed in documents recently submitted to the city.

A NEW COURTHOUSE FOR THE SECOND DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL WILL BE BUILT AT 525 MIRROR LAKE DRIVE IN DOWNTOWN ST. PETE

In May, the project’s architects met with the City of St. Petersburg to discuss the project’s pre-construction schedule. The plan included submitting a demolition permit to the city, which was expected to be denied. The development team then expected to file an appeal and expected to have the demolition permit approved on appeal.

To prevent long-term vacant lots in downtown St. Pete, before granting a demolition permit, the city requires developers to submit an approved site plan and a complete building permit application.

In September, the City of St. Petersburg approved the exemption to allow the demolition of the Sebring Building to proceed.

Demolition is expected to begin in November with an estimated completion in February 2023.

In addition to the construction of the new courthouse, preliminary plans call for vacating Mirror Lake Drive between 5th Street and 6th Street and converting the road, along with an existing parking lot, into a public plaza and green space.

At the moment, the plans for the road vacation are far from reality. The architectural team will need to have further discussions with appropriate city departments and the property owners on either side of the proposed vacation. Additionally, a traffic impact study will need to be conducted. 

Regardless if the road vacation is granted or not, the new courthouse is not expected to impact the pedestrian trail around Mirror Lake.

Plans for the building have not been approved by the city and design elements are subject to change.

Construction on the new courthouse is expected to start in October 2023.