The redevelopment of a surface parking lot in the heart of downtown St. Pete is closer to becoming a reality.

Back in February 2019, The DeNunzio Group, which is led by developer Dustin DeNunzio, entered into a contract with Christ United Methodist Church to purchase a 0.65 acre site at the southeast corner of 1st Avenue North and 5th Street

The church was in need of capitalization and began exploring the sale after determining the value of the underutilized land.

In December 2019, The DeNunzio Group closed on the lot for $5.3 million. To activate the parcel, the group is proposing a true mixed-use building unlike anything else offered downtown, with a range of uses including retail, office, hotel, residential, and public parking.

Another surface parking lot in the Downtown St. Pete core is poised to become a high-rise mixed-use development according to a resolution that will go before the St. Pete City Council on March 7th. The resolution, if approved, will allow negotiations to move forward between the City and The DeNunzio Group, a Cambridge, MA based real estate company, to construct a new public parking garage as part of a new development at the southeast corner of First Avenue N and Fifth Street N.

Last year the Tampa Bay Times reported that the Christ United Methodist Church had entered an agreement to sell its parking lot at 450 1st Avenue N for $5.65 million. At the time, the buyer was disclosed as Miles River Development, a Connecticut based company. They have since backed out of purchasing the site in order to focus on other projects in the area.

This opened up an opportunity for Dustin DeNunzio, who founded The DeNunzio Group back in 2005. His company is currently under contract to buy the downtown lot for $5.3M.