The redevelopment of St. Pete’s Municipal Services Center (MSC) has taken another step forward with the selection of two finalists – Allen Morris and a joint proposal by Echelon, LLC and Third Lake Capital.

Last December, the City of St. Pete received an unsolicited proposal from New York-based development firm Property Markets Group (PMG) to purchase and redevelop the MSC at 1 Fourth Street in downtown St. Pete. In order to redevelop the site, a new MSC building would be constructed on a city-owned parking lot on 2nd Avenue North. This unsolicited offer prompted the city to release a Notice of Intent to Sell, inviting any alternative proposals from private developers to purchase the existing MSC.

Over the past few months, several groups have been in the running to redevelop two centrally located city-owned properties in Downtown St. Pete. The first lies directly on Central Avenue at the northeast corner of 4th Street while the second sits on 2nd Avenue North between 4th Street and 5th Street. The property at Central Avenue and 4th Street is currently home to the City of St. Petersburg’s Municipal Services Center (MSC), an 11-story office building which contains city services such as the planning department, code enforcement, and parking management, among others.

The existing MSC has outstanding deferred maintenance and late last year the City received an unsolicited proposal from Property Markets Group (PMG) to buy the Central Avenue property for $13M. Pursuant to Florida law, the City cannot sell City-owned property without first soliciting offers from other potential buyers.

Back in December, St. Pete Rising reported that the City of St. Pete received an unsolicited offer from New York-based development firm Property Markets Group (PMG) to purchase and redevelop the Municipal Services Center at 1 Fourth Street in Downtown St. Pete.

For background, the Municipal Services Center, or MSC for short, is an 11-story city-owned building with an entire block of Central Avenue frontage that primarily houses city services such as the planning department, code enforcement, and parking management. The building needs millions of dollars in deferred renovations and as a result the City has been exploring ways to renovate or build a new MSC building.

As part of the plan, a new MSC building would be developed on 2nd Avenue North across from City Hall. After receiving the initial development proposal in December, the City was required to solicit requests from other groups before selling the land.

In December, St. Pete Rising announced that the City of St. Petersburg had received an unsolicited offer to purchase and redevelop the Municipal Services Center at 1 Fourth Street in Downtown St. Pete.

The Municipal Services Center, or MSC for short, is an 11-story city-owned office building that primarily houses City of St. Pete services such as the planning department, code enforcement, and parking management. The building has millions of dollars in deferred maintenance and as a result the City has been exploring ways to renovate or build a new Municipal Services Center.

As a refresher, the New York-based Property Markets Group (PMG) offered the City $12 million for the 0.8 acre lot that sits along Central Avenue between 3rd Streets and 4th Streets. Under their proposal, PMG would construct a new MSC building across from City Hall on 2nd Avenue North, about two blocks away. The new MSC building would contain 100,000 square feet of Class A office space along with 220 apartments and parking.