The latest edition of Aerial St. Pete shows the progress on several downtown developments.  Aerial St. Pete is a column by St. Pete Rising which features exclusive aerial photography of projects under construction in St. Petersburg, FL. To accomplish this, we team up with Anthony Bove at AB3 Visuals.

Earlier this month we reported on several of the high profile tower projects under construction in downtown. In this article we are taking a look at six other projects in downtown St. Pete which are in various stages of construction. Some are in the demolition stage while other are topped out and closer to completion. These projects include: Cordova Inn Expansion, Domus Urbana, Galaxy Hotel, Innovare, The Metro, and The Royal. We look forward to following these projects as they are completed.

Cordova Inn Expansion
253 2nd Avenue North

Built in 1921, The Cordova Inn is located at 253 2nd Avenue North and was added to the list of National Register of Historic Places in 2004. In September 2021, a major expansion was announced that would increase the hotel from 32 to 94 rooms while also adding a restaurant and rooftop bar to the property.

The existing hotel building is 12,200 square feet and the addition will be five stories with 38,200 square feet. A total of 22 parking spaces will also be included in the project.

Reno Boyd Building Co. is serving as the general contractor. Interior demolition has begun and demolition of the structures is expected to begin soon. Vertical construction will start later this year with an opening in late 2023 or early 2024.

Domus Urbana
644 3rd Avenue South

Domus Urbana is a five-story condo building being developed by NJR Investment and Development Company, LLC at 644 3rd Avenue South. The building will feature 40 units with four residential floors on top of parking. NJR announced the building sold out in December 2021.

NJR Construction Group, LLC is serving as the general contractor for the project. Construction on the building began in early 2021 and topped out earlier this month. It is expected to be completed later this year.

Galaxy Hotel
1st Street North & 3rd Avenue North

“Galaxy Hotel” is an 11-story boutique hotel under construction at the northwest corner of 1st Street and 3rd Avenue North. The project is being developed by Savni Bakrac. It was announced in 2009 and broke ground in 2018.

The hotel, which is expected to be named closer to completion, will have around 90 rooms along with a ground floor restaurant and rooftop bar. A completion date for the project has not yet been announced.

Innovare
850 5th Avenue South

Innovare is a 50 unit mixed-income affordable housing development under construction at 850 5th Avenue South. The building broke ground in November 2021 and is being developed by Volunteers of America of Florida.

Innovare will provide apartment homes with rents restricted to those who earn less than 60 percent of the area’s median income, with a dozen units set aside for those with very low incomes.

The $17 million project was supported by $1 million in funding from the Penny for Pinellas Affordable Housing Program with additional financial support from the City of St. Petersburg and the Florida Housing Finance Corporation.

The Metro
11th Street & Baum Avenue

The Metro is a seven-story, 100-unit apartment building under construction at 1st Avenue North and 11th Street North. The $24 million project being developed by Michigan-based DevMar Development and will feature fully furnished studio apartments. The building will feature no onsite parking; however, there will be covered storage for 102 bikes and an off-site valet lot for residents. 

Tampa-based KAST Construction is the project’s general contractor. Construction is well underway and the building is expected to top out in the next few months. Completion is expected in early 2023.

The Royal
545 4th Avenue South

The Royal is under construction at 545 4th Avenue South and is being developed by Salt Palm Development. The development will feature 13 townhomes ranging between 1,800 and 3,100 square feet.

The project features three, four-story buildings with two buildings fronting 4th Avenue South and a third building facing an interior driveway. Units at The Royal will feature commercial-grade windows, rooftop decks, private garages, and custom floating glass staircases

The Royal is sold out and completion is expected later this year.