21-story apartment tower proposed for Dr. MLK Jr. Street in downtown St. Pete

The 21-story residential building will contain 292 apartments, 1,357 square feet of retail space, and 373 parking spaces | Abacus Capital Group

New plans have emerged for an apartment tower on an empty lot on the corner of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street North and Arlington Avenue in downtown St. Pete.

The 21-story residential building is being planned by AMFP VI Saint Petersburg LLC, an affiliate of New York-based real estate investment firm Abacus Capital Group. Abacus purchased the 0.78-acre site for $10.75 million in April 2022.

Abacus Capital Group is a private real estate investment firm founded in 2004 and has acquired 31,000 units and invested $4.8 billion into multifamily on behalf of its investors since 2021.

The planned tower is located at the corner of DR. Martin Luther King JR. Street North and arlington avenue | st. pete rising

The $109 million tower, which will be situated two blocks from the bustling Central Avenue retail corridor, will feature 292 market-rate residential units and will reach a height of 212 feet to the roofline and 260 feet to the top of the decorative crown. Tampa-based Baker Barrios is designing the project.

In addition to apartments, the residential building will have a 1,056-square-foot lobby and leasing office along with 1,357 square feet of retail space fronting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street North. The ground floor will also include nine two-story, townhome-style units that will have entrances off of Arlington Avenue.

The building will include a six-story garage pedestal with 373 parking spaces. 229 spaces will be reserved for the apartments and retail while 86 spaces will be set aside for the Frontier Communications office building across Arlington Avenue.

312 bicycle spaces will also be included.

The base of the building features a parking garage with amenity spaces and retail fronting dr. Martin Luther King jr. street North | Abacus Capital Group

An outdoor pool and amenity space will be located on the seventh floor with additional amenity areas on the 21st-floor rooftop.

The parcel is zoned Downtown Center-2 (DC-2) which allows for a base Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of 3.0 and a base height of 125 feet. The project is utilizing FAR bonuses to reach a 6.5 FAR.

To obtain these FAR bonuses, Abacus Capital Group will contribute to the city’s Housing Capital Improvements Projects (HCIP) trust fund to aid in the city’s workforce housing efforts. Additional FAR bonuses include purchasing transfer of development rights (TDRs) from a locally designated landmark or landmark site with available TDRs.