Plans will soon be filed with the City of St. Petersburg for a high-rise mixed-use development that will transform a 0.94-acre parcel in downtown St. Pete.

Ally MW, LLC has proposed a 28-story residential tower on the site of the Exchange Hotel, formerly Hotel Indigo, at 234 3rd Avenue North.

Ally MW, LLC is an entity controlled by Tampa-based investment firm Ally Capital Group which is led by Andrew Wright, founder of Franklin Street. Ally purchased the Hotel Indigo at 234 3rd Avenue North in 2021 and later renovated the property into the Exchange Hotel.

The development is adjacent to another proposed development. Earlier this year KT St Pete Runner LLC, an entity controlled by Delray Beach-based Kolter Group, submitted site plan review documents for a new 14-story, 192-key Tempo by Hilton hotel, that will sit at 232 and 256 2nd Street North. 

The proposed residential tower will have 327 units and a 325-space parking garage. The architecture of the building is modern with floor-to-ceiling windows and glass railings.

St. Pete-based Behar + Peteranecz is listed as the architect for the project.

The ground floor of the development would feature retail space along with a residential lobby and lounge space.

The parking garage would occupy floors two through seven, although a row of residential units would front the garage façade along 3rd Avenue North.

The eighth floor will contain amenity space and an outdoor deck. Another amenity floor would be located on a the 28th floor which would have a rooftop pool and additional amenity space.

The developer plans to request an easement vacation for an existing sidewalk along 3rd Avenue North, which will be replaced with a new sidewalk. The request will need to be approved before the project can move forward.

The plans for the site represent a change from June 2022 when a separate mixed-use development was proposed for the site by the same developer.

At that time, plans called for a 35-story tower with 361 apartments and a 465-space parking garage. That proposal was ultimately withdrawn.

Construction of the tower will require the demolition of all structures on site, which includes the Exchange Hotel. 

The Exchange Hotel was originally built in 1928 as the Martha Washington Hotel. The building is on a list of structures that are potentially eligible local landmarks but is not designated a local landmark 

According to the previous site plan review application submitted, which provides some insight into the current proposal, the developer “believes that the structure does not qualify for designation as a local or national landmark and, thus, is not a historic resource requiring protection.”

No timeline for construction was mentioned in the notice.

In addition to Ally MW, LLC, as the developer, and Behar + Peteranecz Architecture, as the architectural firm, George F. Young Inc. is doing civil engineering work on the project and law firm Hill Ward Henderson is representing the developer.