Demolition to begin for EDGE Collective II, a 20-story apartment tower set to rise in the EDGE District
/EDGE Collective II, a 20-story apartment tower, is preparing to break ground in downtown St. Pete’s EDGE District. A previously planned six-story building is no longer included in the project | PTM Partners
A chain-link fence went up last week around the site of a planned 20-story mixed-use apartment tower expected to begin construction soon in the EDGE District of downtown St. Pete.
In a conversation with St. Pete Rising, PTM Partners said it is preparing the site for demolition to make way for EDGE Collective II, which will be located at the northwest corner of 11th Street South and 1st Avenue South.
The new tower will replace the former Dr. BBQ restaurant and the buildings that previously housed Pin on Cafe, EMOTO Electric Motorbikes, and Chai Mixology.
Pin on Cafe has since relocated to 2458 Central Avenue and rebranded as Pin on Grand.
After the site has been cleared, production pile installation is expected to begin in September or early October, pending final coordination with Duke Energy on utility relocations, followed by vertical construction.
Map of the two-phase EDGE Collective mixed-use development in the EDGE District | Google Maps
The first phase of EDGE Collective was completed in 2024 and included the 163-key Moxy hotel and renovation of the three-story building at 1246 Central Avenue, now home to Bosphorous Turkish Cuisine and Amorino Gelato.
The second phase, which was initially announced in November 2023, will include around 330 apartments, 17,000 to 18,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space, and roughly 280 to 290 parking spaces.
Earlier plans included a second, smaller apartment building on the surface parking lot along Central Avenue between Sweetgreen and The Candle Pour.
However, PTM Partners has removed that building from the current phase and will now use the property as a construction staging and laydown area.
View of the new 20-story apartment tower from the roundabout at 11th Street and Central Avenue in the EDGE District | PTM Partners
Although the second phase will include fewer apartments than initially planned, its central feature remains: a series of mid-block paseos and arcades connecting Central Avenue and 1st Avenue South.
“We want it to be a found street,” Nicholas Pantuliano, managing principal of PTM Partners, said in a conversation with St. Pete Rising. “The whole point is discovery.”
The interior corridors will connect smaller storefronts along Central Avenue and 11th Street South with larger retail spaces facing 1st Avenue South.
PTM Partners expects the retail space to include a mix of national and local businesses, with opportunities for restaurants, art galleries, and other smaller operators.
“The intention is to create corridors off Central where residents, pedestrians, and visitors can find different experiences,” said Michael Tillman, CEO of PTM Partners.
The second phase of the EDGE Collective will contain a series of mid-block paseos and arcades connecting Central Avenue and 1st Avenue South | PTM Partners
Tillman added that they believe 1st Avenue South will become increasingly important as development moves forward across the street at the Historic Gas Plant District.
“Central Avenue is amazing, but so is 1st Avenue South,” Tillman said. “Whatever ends up happening on the Gas Plant site will only make that 1st Avenue South corridor more pedestrianized and more active.”
Residents of the new apartment tower will have access to a seventh-floor amenity deck featuring a pool, spa, fitness center, coworking and meeting spaces, and a media room.
The community will also have a huge health and wellness focus, with regularly scheduled classes and events for residents.
“There’s no other apartment community in this market with a year-round, community-based approach to health and wellness,” said Tillman. “We’re looking at it as a holistic urban wellness retreat.”
The retail arcades at EDGE Collective are designed to draw people off Central Avenue to discover art galleries, restaurants and shops | PTM Partners
“We want to create a real sense of community within the building. You could build the nicest building in the city, but if people don’t form relationships within it, residents won’t feel compelled to stay,” he added.
St. Pete-based Storyn Studio designed EDGE Collective II, and Balfour Beatty will serve as general contractor.
Construction is expected to take more than two years with an estimated completion in late 2028.
