Construction begins on 33-story apartment building in downtown St. Pete
/General contractor KAST Construction has commenced construction on a massive new apartment building planned for an 0.88-acre site owned by St. Pete-based developer Echelon.
The 33-story development, tentatively titled “3rd & 3rd”, will rise at 235 3rd Street South at the northwest corner of 3rd Avenue South and 3rd Street directly across from the Publix-anchored University Village shopping center.
The building was announced on St. Pete Rising in September 2022 and is being developed in partnership with Tampa-based Third Lake Capital. It will include 268 apartments and over 15,000 square feet of ground floor retail space.
At 375 feet, the building will be among the ten tallest buildings in St. Petersburg.
The apartments at 3rd & 3rd will range from studios to large two-story penthouse units on the top floor, which all feature high-end finishes and appliances.
Amenities in the building will include an expansive eighth floor amenity deck with an outdoor pool, cabanas, fire pits, and a large TV wall. The tower will also include a gym, community kitchen, resident workspaces, and conference rooms.
The building was designed by Tampa-based Baker Barrios Architects and features massive angular balconies, modern floor to ceiling windows, and dark accents along the parking garage and building base. The building will also be home to several murals or public art pieces.
The project includes a parking garage with 323 spaces. It will also have 286 bicycle parking spaces.
Demolition of the site, which included a three-story office building that was formerly home to the Aveda on 3rd Salon, occurred in 2023.
The property is zoned Downtown Center-1 (DC-1) which allows for a base Floor Area Ratio of 3.0 and a maximum FAR of 7.0 with approved bonuses.
The building was permitted at the maximum FAR of 7.0 and utilized several density bonuses for approval, including contributing to the city’s Housing Capital Improvements Projects (HCIP) trust fund to aid in the city’s workforce housing efforts, purchasing transfer of development rights (TDRs) from a locally designated landmark or landmark site with available TDRs, and contributing to the city’s infrastructure fund.
The building is expected to take two years to build and is scheduled to be complete by mid-2026.